Understanding Statistical Models and Mathematical Models

Course Overview
Hi. My name is Janani Ravi, and welcome to this course on building statistical summaries with R. A little about myself. I have a master's in electrical engineering from Stanford and have worked at companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Flipkart. At Google, I was one of the first engineers working on real‑time collaborative editing in Google Docs, and I hold four patents for its underlying technologies. I currently work on my own startup, Loonycorn, a studio for high‑quality video content. Data science and data modeling are fast emerging as crucial capabilities that every enterprise and every technologist must possess these days. Increasingly, different organizations are using the same models and modeling tools, so it's becoming very important to choose the type of model most appropriate to your use case. In this course, you will gain the ability to differentiate between mathematical models and statistical models and pick the right type of model for your scenario. First, you will learn important characteristics of mathematical and statistical models and their applications. Next, you will discover how classic mathematical models find wide applicability in solving differential equations and modeling deterministic systems, such as in solving the 8‑queens problem using both classic local search, as well simulated annealing. You will also learn how statistical models are great for modeling systems with randomness using business‑based use cases from risk management and the use of Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, you'll round out your knowledge performing hypothesis testing using t‑tests and z‑tests on real‑world data. When you're finished with this course, you will have the skills and knowledge to use powerful techniques from both mathematical and statistical modeling, including solving simple ordinary differential equations, the use of simulated annealing and classic hill climbing, as well as hypothesis testing and statistical tests such as the t‑test.