6.437 Inference and Information
Spring 2017
Reverend Thomas Bayes and Sir Ronald Fisher
Instructor: Gregory W Wornell
TAs: Austin Daniel Collins, Eren Can Kizildag, Anuran Makur
Lecture:
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-11am
(32-155)
Recitation: Fridays, 10-11am or 11am-noon
(36-156)
TA Office Hours: Mondays 4:30-6:30pm and Thursdays 4:30-5:30pm
(36-156)
Greg's Office Hours: By appointment
Information:
Introduction to principles of Bayesian and non-Bayesian statistical inference. Hypothesis testing and parameter estimation, sufficient statistics; exponential families. EM algorithm. Log-loss inference criterion, entropy and model capacity. Kullback-Leibler divergence and information geometry. Asymptotic analysis and large deviations theory. Model order estimation; nonparametric statistics. Computational issues and approximation techniques; Monte Carlo methods. Selected special topics including universal prediction, compression, and learning.
ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE is limited to the students enrolled in the course as LISTENERS or FOR CREDIT. Please talk to us in class about registering and getting access to the web site. You can download the general information handout by clicking on the "General Info" tab on the left, even if you are not enrolled in the course.
Announcements
Midterm Quiz Reminder
Dear 6.437 aficionados--As a reminder, our first quiz is next week: Wednesday, March 22, 7-10pm, in our lecture room 32-155. The quiz will be closed book, but you may bring two 8.5x11" sheets of notes (both sides) to the quiz. The material covered will be through tomorrow's lecture this week (i.e., March 16) and Problem Set 5, and this week's recitation.
There will be additional TA office hours during quiz week, the details of which the TAs will email the class shortly.
See you tomorrow,
Greg
Announced on 15 March 2017 11:12 a.m. by Gregory W Wornell
Please staple your problem sets
Hi everyone,Can you please staple your problem sets before submission if want them to be graded properly. It is quite frustrating for your grader to keep track of separate sheets of your problem sets amid the large pile paper. Thank you very much.
Best,
6.437 TAs
Announced on 06 March 2017 6:44 p.m. by Anuran Makur
Changes to TA Office Hours
Hi everyone,Due to greater demand for office hours on Mondays, we have decided that Monday office hours will now be held from 4:30-6:30pm, and Thursday office hours will be held from 4:30-5:30pm.
Best,
6.437 TAs
Announced on 01 March 2017 5:21 p.m. by Anuran Makur
Final Quiz now scheduled
Hi Everyone:The registrar has scheduled our second quiz for the Tuesday of Final Exam week. In particular, it will be Tuesday, May 23, 9am-noon, in the Johnson Ice Rink.
Your trusty 6.437 Staff
Announced on 28 February 2017 9:10 a.m. by Gregory W Wornell
Office Hours for Monday, Feb 13
There will be an office hour today starting at 6pm, in 36-156 (same location as recitation). We have confirmed the room for 6-6:30pm; and depending on whether the room is available after 6:30pm, we might need to move to a different location.
Also for those who want to come early, we will be in 36-156 at 5pm.
Best,
6.437 TAs
Announced on 13 February 2017 11:03 a.m. by Eren Can Kizildag
