Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition.pdf

For those entering the field of artificial neural networks, there has been an acute need for an authoritative textbook that explains the main ideas clearly and consistently using the basic tools of linear algebra, calculus, and simple probability theory. There have been many attempts to provide such a text, but until now, none has succeeded. Some authors have failed to separate the basic ideas and principles from the soft and fuzzy intuitions that led to some of the models as well as to most of the exaggerated claims. Others have been unwilling to use the basic mathematical tools that are essential for a rigorous understanding of the material. Yet others have tried to cover too many different kinds of neural network without going into enough depth on any one of them. The most successful attempt to date has been "Introduction to the Theory of Neural Computation" by Hertz, Krogh and Palmer. Unfortunately, this book started life as a graduate course in statistical physics and it shows. So despite its many admirable qualities it is not ideal as a general textbook.