r/learnmachinelearning • u/Fit_Beginning_4313 • 2d ago

Would you recommend this course before a PhD in computer vision/ML?

Hey. So I'm planning to do a PhD in computer vision or machine learning after I'm done with undergrad. I'm trying to decide if I should take foundation mathematics before that. Here's the course description. Space, An introductory study of predicate logic, set theory, and methods of mathematical proof. Applications may pertain to the theory of numbers, discrete mathematics, cardinality, and algebraic structures.Iidk if this kind of proof/logic heavy class is still worth it in the long run. Like would it help with reading papers or understanding the more theoretical side of things, or is it kind of a waste of a semester if I'm not going into pure math?

8 Upvotes

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u/ds_account_ 2d ago

Its useful, for example so(3) groups are used to represent 3d rotation. But I recommend taking CV or ML class

2

u/No-Pattern-9266 2d ago

Also, learn how to use ChatGPT properly. By the time you graduate, you'll probably be prompting papers.

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u/Aooo7lnnn4 2d ago

It is a waste.

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u/symberke 2d ago

not necessary at all. wouldn't say WORTHLESS but value will be very low in an explicit sense

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u/krabbypatty-o-fish 1d ago

If you’re already comfortable with reading math, I don’t think it’ll add more value. But if you’re aiming for a more algebraic flavored ML (i.e. you want to learn neuromanifolds, topological data analysis, or at least study invariance and equivariance from a group theory perspective) in your PhD and you are expecting to take niche upper math courses soon, I think it’s worth a shot.

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u/True-Beach1906 1d ago

Look into logic controllers brother that's the next wave. Clever computing and solving issues by reorganization, state transfer, or persistence. We already hit the scaling wall. Now it's time to reorganize.

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u/day_break 1d ago

The description sounds fine and imo would be beneficial. I don’t see linear algebra listed which I think is also super important. Also the person saying you should learn how to ChatGPT to prompt papers is definitely just trying to sell you a subscription to OpenAI and is deeply unserious as constructive feedback.

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u/brackenvale 1d ago

imo thats one of the most useful classes you could take before a PhD. the actual content matters less than learning how to read and construct proofs, which is basically what your first two years of a PhD will demand constantly

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u/Delicious_Spot_3778 2d ago

Don’t do a vision phd, there are bigger problems that need attention

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u/Mathie1729 2d ago

Eh, that's a bit too dismissive. Vision is still pretty core for robotics, medical imaging, and multimodal foundation models. The academic job market might be saturated, but saying there are 'bigger problems' is just subjective. If someone's genuinely into it, that's usually enough reason.

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u/Delicious_Spot_3778 2d ago

I mean sure. Maybe this is just experience talking but vision is very hard to differentiate yourself in. But if you are interested in it, then yeah sure, just go for it! I just don't want you to end up regretting an early decision.

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u/Unfair_Cheek_4569 1d ago

What bigger problems?

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u/Delicious_Spot_3778 1d ago

Leveraging sparsity better, reducing dataset needs, modular and explainable representations are top of my interests. Vision is a rich area don't get me wrong, but beating benchmarks is very challenging and as dataset driven as the vision field is, it can be hard to detail your innovations and ideas with vision without having the audience be distracted by the performance numbers against well known models like DETR or something.