Book Image

Bayesian Analysis with Python

Book Image

Bayesian Analysis with Python

Overview of this book

The purpose of this book is to teach the main concepts of Bayesian data analysis. We will learn how to effectively use PyMC3, a Python library for probabilistic programming, to perform Bayesian parameter estimation, to check models and validate them. This book begins presenting the key concepts of the Bayesian framework and the main advantages of this approach from a practical point of view. Moving on, we will explore the power and flexibility of generalized linear models and how to adapt them to a wide array of problems, including regression and classification. We will also look into mixture models and clustering data, and we will finish with advanced topics like non-parametrics models and Gaussian processes. With the help of Python and PyMC3 you will learn to implement, check and expand Bayesian models to solve data analysis problems.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Bayesian Analysis with Python
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Summary


In this chapter, we learned about probabilistic programming and how inference engines leverage the power of Bayesian modeling. We discussed the main conceptual ideas behind MCMC methods and its central role in modern Bayesian data analysis. We encountered, for the first time, the powerful and easy-to-use PyMC3 library. We revisited the coin-flipping problem from the previous chapter, this time using PyMC3 to define it, solve it, and also perform model checks and diagnoses that are a very important part of the modeling process.

In the next chapter, we will keep building our Bayesian analytics skills by learning how to work with models having more than one parameter and how to make parameters talk to each other.