TEXTBOOK

The course notes for the class have now been published by Cambridge University Press 2024. We will no longer be passing out bound notes. You can purchase the textbook from Amazon. See more information here.

PREREQUISITES

15-259 assumes NO PRIOR PROBABILITY/STATS classes, and will satisfy the Computer Science Probability/Statistics requirement. The course DOES assume that you have taken calculus (and still remember how to integrate, differentiate, and do Taylor-series expansions). The course also assumes that you can do double integrals, including changing the order of integrals, and also know some basic matrix algebra (eigenvectors, solving equations, etc.). The main prerequisite is 15-251, where we expect that you learned how to sum basic arithmetic and geometric series and got some practice with basic combinatorics/counting as well as receiving some exposure to algorithms. The 15-251 prerequisite will also teach you how to formalize questions in mathematical terms and how to do proofs, as well as giving you experience tackling problems where the solutions are not straightforward. (If you are a math major, we're happy to accept 21-228 instead of 15-251). Prior classes in 3D Calculus are highly recommended, and are listed as corequisites. Homework 1 is a Prerequisite Review. You should go through Chapter 1 of the textbook. It is due on the first Friday after the start of class -- Jan 19 -- at 12:50 pm sharp, on Gradescope.