Bagel's hello!

BagelSticks said:

But doing maths also is something I found that calms me down when needed. I have not read that but it sounds interesting! Would you recommend it?

Just finished Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Maths Behind Modern AI by Anil Ananthaswamy. If you are interested in maths and interested in AI, it is very ... interesting, genuinely. You'll learn all about the maths behind various kinds of machine learning, including the deep neural networks trained using back propagation that we all know about these days.

Stephen Hawking wrote about popular science books that, "Each equation halves your sales." In that case, this book either isn't in the "popular" category, or I'm the only person to have bought it! There is probably enough dense information, presented as equations, to allow you to write your own neural networks from scratch! At the same time, it is not an AI text book—the text is admirably descriptive.

My ancient engineering maths knowledge has decayed to near nothing, but I still have some grasp of the principles of things like vectors, derivatives and gradient descent. That grasp seemed to be enough. I could just skip over the equations and read the text and get a good feel for what was going on mathematically inside all the machine learning systems.

There is nothing practical about the book. It mentions that, these days, anyone can implement their own neural networks using Python libraries and a bit of code, but it doesn't do any more than mention it. It sticks to its mission of explaining only the maths behind such things.

I bought the Kindle version when it was on special for 99p, so I feel I got good value for money.

Hi and welcome to the community. I enjoy playing video games too, and I.don't think an interest in dinosaurs is silly - it's fascinating.

Hi Nik

You've come to the right place I think :-)

Thanks for introducing yourself.

Hello ,

I think things to keep your mind occupied are really helpful.

I like the Microsoft Solitaire card app, doing all 5 variations. I'm at level 2500 on the Spider one.

It is interesting, the more you do it the more you subconsciously pick up on the rules. Till you can do expert or higher levels. It keeps me occupied without having to think much and is not much  pressure.

The problem with dinosaurs is I always want to know more. I also question some of the extrapolations and assumptions. I've been to Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, which is cool, as well as seeing fossilized trees in several places. 

BagelSticks said:

AND YES, trying to not get carried away talking about yourself is a bigg thing for me too. I like to think it is my way to be like 'HEY i relate to you' but I guess it doesnt always come across that way.

No, it probably doesn't come across that way to NTs, but Autistic people find it quite natural to talk about their own experiences (possibly at length) as a means of establishing empathy. It's a different communication strategy, not a wrong one, but how do you explain that in the heat of social combat? (More info here.)

BagelSticks said:

end up saying stupid stuff

We've all been there: trying to keep a straight face and style it out while mentally face-palming yourself! Your whole brain just one big "DOH!"

***

Wonderful Life, by Gould, is a classic, if you haven't read it.

***

What would you have done differently about "knowing how things work" if you knew earlier that your brain works Autistically? Me? I'd have had more of an explanation for why I feel the need to google ever third thing a person says! Then it gets hard to hear what else they're saying because inside my head I'm all, "Don't reach for your phone! DON'T reach for you phone!" while simultaneously trying to remember what I need to google as soon as I'm on my own again, and then losing track of the conversation entirely.

I think that's part of the whole "slow" Autistic processing thing. We're not particularly slow, we've just go so many things going on simultaneously that any one thing takes a bit longer to process, as it has to keep making space for all the other things.

My checklists often starts with how are you? or you doing okay? as basic as it is
Then there are branches based on the reply: no? - ask why, whats up? maybe if they are a friend if there is anything i can do to help. yes?- great, moving on!
Depending on the person, how much I know them and if i know anything specifc about them i might ask about that. Then follow a script in my head! 
Ask about a specific interest if i know, if i know the did something ask how it went. It often gets repetative though.. and people have found it annoying as I've been told. It makes sense to me but not to everyone I guess. AND YES, trying to not get carried away talking about yourself is a bigg thing for me too. I like to think it is my way to be like 'HEY i relate to you' but I guess it doesnt always come across that way.
By now my checklists and the branching has become a bit convoluted and i often struggle keeping up with it. and end up saying stupid stuff.

I would like to hear your opinion when you finish it!

I might have to give more of his books a read, I mainly watch stuff about it or read articles but I do enjoy reading books so will have to try!

Knowing how things work is definitely a big thing for me as well, I didnt realise it was because of my autism until very late unfortunately. 

I enjoyed it.  It is not a large exhibition, however, they have chosen a really muted lighting scheme in that area (which suits me).

I liked several other areas of the wider museum too.

Something else handy to know; if you are travelling with someone who is not in love with natural history - the museum next door (you literally walk through a connecting door) might be more their scene - Pitt Rivers Museum - collections include: archaeological and ethnographic objects from all parts of the world. 

The General Pitt Rivers's founding gift contained more than 26,000 objects, but there are now over half a million.

The extensive photographic and sound archives contain early records of great importance.

https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/home

https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/events

Nearby is a well respected art, sculpture and archaeology museum too - The Ashmolean Museum:

https://www.ashmolean.org/home

BagelSticks said:

my social skills just invole long checklists in my head

We should compare checklists, then! Ask about the kids (check), any holidays planned (check), how's work going (check), try to keep eye contact (check, sort of; do teeth count?), try not to get carried away talking about yourself if you once went to the same place they're going on holidays (damn!).

I'm only half-way through the AI maths book, so I'll reserve my opinion until I'm done. It's quite technical, but it seems possible not to get too bogged down in the finer details and still get the gist of things. It's promising.

I like a lot of Stephen J. Gould's writing on palaeontology, too.

What else? Mostly boring stuff like step counting (which replaced cycling), more books (any subject), trees, etc. I have a house full of stuff I used to be really into before I moved on. Classic ADHD hyperfixations mostly, but "knowing how it works" certainly sums up my life-long passion, which definitely checks the Autistic "special interest" box.

Hello! Thank you, I really can't wait to finally be a part of such community

Hello!

This sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing it with me. I will definitely need to check it out and go!
How did you find/like it?

Hello! Thank you.
Honestly my social skills just invole long checklists in my head, it can be tedious but it works most of the time! ahaha

I love maths for similar reasons, I like knowing how it works, the principles etc, I find it very satisfying. But doing maths also is something I found that calms me down when needed. I have not read that but it sounds interesting! Would you recommend it?

I have read the paleontolgy book! It is truly an amazing one.

What else do you enjoy? If i may ask

Hi and welcome to the community!    

Hi, BagelSticks. Welcome to the forum.

You must share some tips on those social skills of yours with us. You're probably ahead of many of us in that department!

I'm a fan of the old maths, too, though I don't do much by way of actual practice. I like knowing about the various principles and applications. I'm currently reading, "Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Maths Behind Modern AI" by Anil Ananthaswamy. It's a bit dense, but I'm learning lots.

Paleontology is also something I'm interested in. My favourite recent book on the subject was "The Rise and Reign of the Mammals" by Steve Brusatte. It's amazing what a single tooth can tell you about an animal.

Hello Nik,  welcome to the community here.

Last year, I visited the "Breaking Ground" exhibition:at Oxford University Museum of Natural History (an exhibition running until: 13 April 2026).

The exhibition is a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the first scientific description of a dinosaur.

Here is an online edition of the exhibition for those people unable to visit Oxford:

https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/breaking-ground-online

https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/visit-us

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24647255.oxford-exhibition-marks-200-years-sine-dinosaur-discovery/

Several times a year, this Museum opens an hour earlier than usual - as an Autism-friendly opening hour (sometimes on a weekday, other times on a Saturday).

I understand that the next one is:

09:00 to 10:00 on Saturday 18 October 2025.

To aid Autistic visitors in their preparation for attending the Museum - the Museum produces a good accessibility; visual story / visual guide / easy read guide / much more information which may be needed by some visitors:

https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/accessibility-information#collapse4224971