If you liked Nina Zumel’s article on the limitations of Random Test/Train splits you might want to check out her recent article on predictive analytics product evaluation hosted by our friends at Fliptop. Continue reading A bit more on testing
Category Archives: Administrativia
Is there a Kindle edition of Practical Data Science with R?
We have often been asked “why is there no Kindle edition of Practical Data Science with R on Amazon.com?” The short answer is: there is an edition you can read on your Kindle: but it is from the publisher Manning (not Amazon.com). Continue reading Is there a Kindle edition of Practical Data Science with R?
Great new post by Win-Vector’s Nina Zumel
Win-Vector LLC’s Nina Zumel has a great new article on the issue of taste in design and problem solving: Design, Problem Solving, and Good Taste. I think it is a big issue: how can you expect good work if you can’t even discuss how to tell good from bad?
Win-Vector LLC’s John Mount at Strata + Hadoop World October 2014
Win-Vector LLC‘s John Mount will be speaking at Strata + Hadoop World 2014 this month. Please attend my panel on data inventories (a key driver of data science project success) and attend my “Practical Data Science with R” book office hour (get your book signed!). Thank you both O’Reilly Media, Inc. and Waterline Data Science for making this possible.
Current schedule/location details after the click. Continue reading Win-Vector LLC’s John Mount at Strata + Hadoop World October 2014
What is a win vector?
From time to time we are asked “what is the company name Win-Vector LLC referring to?” It is a cryptic pun trying to be an encoding of “we deliver victory.”
The story is an inside joke referring to something really only funny to one of the founders. But a joke that amuses the teller is always enjoyed by at least one person. Win-Vector LLC’s John Mount had the honor of co-authoring a 1997 paper titled “The Polytope of Win Vectors.” The paper title is obviously mathematical terms in an odd combination. However the telegraphic grammar is coincidentally similar to deliberately ungrammatical gamer slang such as “full of win” and “so much win.”
If we treat “win” as a concrete noun (say something you can put in a sack) and “vector” in its non-mathematical sense (as an entity of infectious transmission) we have “Win-Vector LLC is an infectious delivery of victory.” I.e.: we deliver success to our clients. Of course, we have now attempt to explain a weak joke. It is not as grand as “winged victory,” but it does encode a positive company value: Win-Vector LLC delivers successful data science projects and training to clients.
Winged Victory: from Wikipedia
Let’s take this as an opportunity to describe what a win vector is. Continue reading What is a win vector?
Diversion: Win-Vector LLC’s Nina Zumel takes time off to publish a literary book review
Win-Vector LLC’s Nina Zumel takes some time off to publish a literary book review: Reading Red Spectres: Russian Gothic Tales.
Nina Zumel also examines aspects of the supernatural in literature and in folk culture at her blog, multoghost.wordpress.com. She writes about folklore, ghost stories, weird fiction, or anything else that strikes her fancy. Follow her on Twitter @multoghost.
Save 50% on Practical Data Science with R (and other titles) at Manning through May 30, 2014
Manning Publications Inc. is launching an exciting new MEAP: Practical Probabilistic Programming (which we have already subscribed to) by offering a 50% discount on Practical Probabilistic Programming and other titles (including Practical Data Science with R!). To get the discount put the books in your Manning shopping car and then add the promotional code ppplaunch50 (through May 30, 2014) into the coupon code field in the “other” section on towards the bottom of the account form. See below for other Manning books eligible for this generous discount. Continue reading Save 50% on Practical Data Science with R (and other titles) at Manning through May 30, 2014
Save 45% on Practical Data Science with R (expires May 21, 2014)
Please share this generous deal from Manning publications: save 45% on Practical Data Science with R through May 21, 2014. Please tweet, forward and share!
Edit: we are going to try and keep the current best deals on the book at the bottom of the Practical Data Science with R page. So look there for updates (also the book is always available at Amazon.com so you may want to look what the discount there is).
Great book discount from Manning (and more about one of our authors)
Found this great offer from mkt@manning.com in our email today! Very excited to see Nina Zumel get some recognition and thought we would share it (and the generous discount) here. Continue reading Great book discount from Manning (and more about one of our authors)
Practical Data Science with R: Release date announced
It took a little longer than we’d hoped, but we did it! Practical Data Science with R will be released on April 2nd (physical version). The eBook version will follow soon after, on April 15th. You can preorder the pBook now on the Manning book page. The physical version comes with a complimentary eBook version (when the eBook is released), in all three formats: PDF, ePub, and Kindle.
If you haven’t yet, order it now!
(softbound 416 pages, black and white; includes access to color PDF, ePub and Kindle when available)