What is a Context Manager If you have used the with statement in Python then chances are you’ve already used a context manager. A context manager usually takes care of setting up some resource, e.g. opening a connection, and automatically handles the clean up when we are done with it. Probably, the most common use…

What is an Abstract Class? An abstract class is a class, but not one you can create objects from directly. Its purpose is to define how other classes should look like, i.e. what methods and properties they are expected to have. The methods and properties defined (but not implemented) in an abstract class are called…

Understanding Mutable Objects in Python. — I remember a few years ago when I switched from using R to using Python, one of the things I had to get used to was mutable objects — which are not really a thing in R. Mutable objects are objects that can be modified after being created. Some examples…

Learn about the Thompson Sampling (Bayesian Bandits) algorithm. — Introduction In this series of posts, we experiment with different bandit algorithms to optimise our movie nights — more specifically, how we select movies and restaurants for food delivery! For newcomers, the name bandit comes from slot machines (known as one-armed bandits). You can think of it as something that can…

How to run an A/B test for rate metrics without p-values and confidence intervals. — Have you ever struggled trying to explain your Frequentist test results (namely null/alternative hypothesis, p-values and confidence intervals) to a non-technical audience or… even yourself? Do you wish you could just say “there’s a 95% probability group A has a better click-through rate than group B” after running an A/B…

Learn about the different Upper Confidence Bound bandit algorithms (UCB1, UCB1-Tuned, UCB1-Normal). Python code provided for all experiments. — Introduction In this series of posts, we experiment with different bandit algorithms in order to optimise our movie nights — more specifically how we select movies and restaurants for food delivery! For newcomers, the name bandit comes from slot-machines (known as one-armed bandits). You can think of it as something that…

Calculating 𝜋 Using Monte-Carlo Simulations. — No idea what Monte-Carlo simulations are? This post is for you. But first, let’s talk about pizza. More specifically, a pizza inside a box. You are really bored and have decided to calculate the area of your pizza to pass the time (of all the things to do). You know…

Everything’s great until proven otherwise. Learn about the Optimistic Initial Values algorithm. Python code provided for all experiments. — Introduction In this series of posts, we experiment with different bandit algorithms in order to optimise our movie nights — more specifically how we select movies and restaurants for food delivery! For newcomers, the name bandit comes from slot-machines (known as one-armed bandits). You can think of it as something that…

Learn how Epsilon-Greedy works. Full python code provided for all experiments. — It’s Saturday night and you are getting ready for a movie night. But first, you want to order food! There’s a selection of restaurants in your area and you’ve only tried a few. …