PATRICK JAILLET: Let's face it.
Life is uncertain.
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: But
one thing is certain.
We need a way to make predictions
and make decisions under uncertainty.
PATRICK JAILLET: Probabilistic models
can help to answer questions such as--
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: What
are the odds that there
will be a long line at the
supermarket checkout counter?
PATRICK JAILLET: How likely is
it that my GPS device is off
by more than 10 meters?
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: What are the odds that
I will have a car accident next year?
PATRICK JAILLET: How likely is
it that the air traffic control
radar will miss the approaching plane?
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: Should I invest
in the stock market now or wait?
PATRICK JAILLET: Can I
use a probabilistic model
of social networking data to
create a marketing campaign?
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: How do we use
a statistical model to decide
if a medical treatment is effective?
PATRICK JAILLET: How do I model the huge
amounts of data that are now becoming
available in so many different fields--
big data as they call it--
and extract useful information?
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: I am John Tsitsiklis.
PATRICK JAILLET: And
I'm Patrick Jaillet.
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: Our mission in this
class is to give you the tools to model
and analyze uncertain situations,
no matter what your discipline.
PATRICK JAILLET: To do that,
we will use the language
and precision of mathematics.
But we will also build your intuition.
JOHN TSITSIKLIS: This
is an ambitious class.
The online version is at the same level
as the one offered to MIT students.
It covers a lot of material.
Beyond the basics, you will
learn about random processes
and about extracting
information from data.
PATRICK JAILLET: In the end, you will
be able to make much better sense
of the uncertainty around you.
The rewards are certain to come.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
PATRICK JAILLET: Let's face it.
Life is uncertain.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
