February 2010 Boston Ruby User Group - "Rapid prototyping with Blueprint and Viewaide" and "Artificial stupidity, adding smarts to yer kode with a little machine learning"

Josh Clayton will be presenting "Rapid prototyping with Blueprint and Viewaide".

Randall Thomas from Engine Yard will be presenting "Artificial stupidity, adding smarts to yer kode with a little machine learning"

Machine Learning and data mining have long been a "black art" - partially because it sits squarely between various rigorous disciplines (statistics, linear algebra, analysis, geometry) and primarily because everyone who studies it either has a Ph.D or is working on one. This exploration will cover a basic (and gentle) introduction to machine learning, a brief overview of what sort of problems fit well into the machine learning bag, and a few examples of how we might integrate machine learning into a project.

If there's time, folks can volunteer to give lightning talks (5-10 minutes), as well as announcements.

Afterwards, we will be heading to Flat Top Johnny's for drinks and possibly some pool.

Venue

Sermo is kindly providing space and food and drink for this month's meeting.

They are located at 215 First Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, on the 4th floor of the Athenaeum Center. When you come into the building, the elevator/stairway is down the hallway to the right of the welcome desk. Go up to the 4th floor, and the Sermo entrance is to the left.

If you are taking the T, the nearest stops are Kendall on the Red Line, and Lechmere on the Green Line.

If you are driving, there is on-street parking in the surround areas after 6PM. Additionally, the Cambridgeside Galleria is nearby, and has a parking garage ($2-$3).

Special Thanks

Many thanks go out to:

• Sermo for providing the venue, food, and drinks
• Engine Yard for donating a slice for hosting bostonrb.org