My 10-Second Bio:
- Research Scientist šØš»āš» figuring out how to make computers understand the world like us - Successfully head scratching for 11+ years.
- Award Winning Nature Photographer š šø - You may like these images here.
- Youtuber š„ - I want to make machine learning fun again. Interested? You may enjoy these videos.
- Writer š - Writing helps me learn. I hope my writing can help you learn too - Find my writing here on this site, and in my weekly newsletter, Gradient Ascent.
My 190.32 Second Bio:
Professionally, Iām a Computer Vision and Machine Learning researcher with 11+ years of learning in the Tech Industry.
But your mind is probably trying to figure out if 190.32 seconds is a clickbait sub-head. Even if you're not, here is why -
(793 words / 250 words per minute) * 60 Ā = 190.32 seconds.
How did I get here?
After the big bang and many millennia of evolution later... Ok Ok, don't scroll away, I'll cut to the chase.
Growing up, I was fascinated with visuals - art, painting, and eventually photography. It wasn't until grad school (Go Blue!) that I learnt that there's an entire field devoted to figuring out how we can teach computers to see and understand the world like us.
I was hooked!
Since then, I've spent every working hour helping computers understand our world. They're like babies learning new things (only more disciplined).
Outside of work, I used to spend every minute I could immersed in the outdoors, photographing the wonders of our blue marble. If that's your kind of thing, check out some of my images.
Recently, I became responsible for a little human and said human takes a lot of my time and energy (which I love!), so I have less time to spend behind the lens.
My (Many) Interests
I have too many interests for my own good. Some change roughly twice a year. The ones below have stood the test of time:
- I'm a lifelong learner and that's something I plan to continue for the foreseeable future.
- I love books and if you're curious as to why you might like my superhero backstory here.
- Nature and Photography - There's nothing quite as liberating or calming as being in the outdoors, feeling completely dwarfed in its presence, and capturing fleeting moments when the tempest bestows mercy on you.
- I enjoy teaching - I enjoy it so much that I started a youtube channel despite the cringe factor and being ribbed about becoming an influencer (I'm not btw, not even close š).
- I've always loved writing, but until recently, procrasti-planned my way out of being consistent - That has changed now (or so I hope).
- Coffee āļø - I had my first cuppa when I was 10 months old (My mom is still pissed off at my granny). Coffee is a word, Kaapi is an emotion (IYKYK).
Why teach Machine Learning and Computer Vision?
Despite a graduate school education, there were a number of things I had to learn in my career to be a valuable contributor to my teams. Over the course of this journey, I've found machine learning felt like a guarded fortress to outsiders.
I was on the outside like many others, perhaps like you at some point.
One of my goals in life is to break this barrier to entry.
I learnt on the job and so can you! Machine learning is a ton of fun to learn and the applications are limitless. As it is taught today, it's jargon heavy, snooty, and boring like one of the many characters in INSERT_YOUR_FAVORITE_SNOBBISH_TV_SHOW_HERE.
Will this benefit you?
Answer these three questions with a yes/no:
- Can you code or will you learn to code?
- Do you work with people who speak to each other in greek symbols and you'd like to be in the know?
- Do you like memes and random analogies as proxies to explain complicated concepts?
If you answered yes to even one of these, then this will benefit you. Even if you answered no, then it will still benefit you. Don't ask me why. A machine learning model I trained said it would.
What I write about? (For Now)
- If you haven't seen it being mentioned about a dozen times above, I write about machine learning and computer vision to make it easy to understand and hopefully use in your own work in some way.
- I also write about learning - How to learn effectively on a part-time schedule (You're nodding aren't you?), Lessons from a life of learning, and what I'm learning about currently.
A meme I live by:
Get In Touch:
- The best way to get in touch with me is to drop a tweet on Twitter @DSaience . I'm usually quick to respond there.
- If you'd prefer to email, send me a note to this address. While I read all the emails I get, I don't have time to respond to all of them. If you reply to my newsletter with your question, there's a higher chance that I'll respond.
P.S: ā Ā I am a coffee addict afficionado and make it a point to try the coffee at every city I visit
P.P.S: š Ā I have an ever-increasing book collection so if you find something fun to read, drop a note š