Light on Math ML: Intuitive Guide to Matrix Factorization (Part 1)

You’ll never be afraid to see an allegedly intimidating matrix factorization equation in your life!

I’m going to make matrix factorization as sweet as this snicker bar (Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay)

Matrix factorization code: [here]

In this article, you will learn about matrix factorization, bread and butter of many classical machine learning approaches. This article will focus explaining the real-world applications of matrix factorization (MF) (with code examples) and the intuition underpinning it. Have you ever thought matrix factorization might be used for drug repurposing ❓

If you’re anything like me (hopefully not), by the end of this article, you will regret downplaying matrix factorization in your undergraduate algebra course, because you never thought you would use it.

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Prelude

Mathematics was never my strong suit in my undergraduates. I never understood, why the angle of the tangent at a given point of a curve is important, or why integral over a curve resulting in the surface area under the curve is important, or why matrix factorization is important? Sure, lot of data we…