Think Bayes: Bayesian Statistics Made Simple

by Allen B. Downey

Think Bayes is an introduction to Bayesian statistics using computational methods. The premise of this book, and the other books in the Think X series, is that if you know how to program, you can use that skill to learn other topics. Most books on Bayesian statistics use mathematical notation and present ideas in terms of mathematical concepts like calculus. This book uses Python code instead of math, and discrete approximations instead of continuous mathematics. As a result, what would be an integral in a math book becomes a summation, and most operations on probability distributions are simple loops. I think this presentation is easier to understand, at least for people with programming skills. It is also more general, because when we make modeling decisions, we can choose the most appropriate model without worrying too much about whether the model lends itself to conventional analysis. Also, it provides a smooth development path from simple examples to real-world problems.

Description from Open Textbook Library.

Publisher
Green Tea Press
Year
2012
Subjects
Computer Science
Licence
Attribution-NonCommercial, as Open Textbook Library states it. Non-commercial use only.
Who can read
Tweens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects