In this thread I realize that I have been a bit vague. I want to develop the skills of visualization and in depth understanding of math for a reason. I want to learn how to make systems that exploit machine learning and use statistical techniques to infer patterns from data.

In the future some day I want to work in A.I. and create something beautiful with the knowledge I have gained. This is why I want to lay down the foundations to understand the beautiful advances in it I see around me.

Thanks a lot for commenting!

Cool, although I'd suggest not getting to excited about AI itself. It's cool your already focusing on machine learning.

A great way to get going in that direction is to check out the state of the art as expressed by AT&T labs Netflix Prize solution. To get very far you'll want to have some background in linear algebra. However, theory isn't the way to go (although you'll probably need it eventually). Do a little digging and you'll find code for svds, the simplex method and all sorts of super important algorithms that are used all over the place.

You'll find if you ask questions like: How does x work in y algorithm? people will have a better idea of where to start. When you actually are coding and able to see numbers for a particular problem, you'll be able to wrap your mind around what's going on.

Thank you.