10 · Tucker Decomposition on Real Data
Part IV, Block 6 of Tensors for Machine Learning. One practical question:
How can we compress a tensor while keeping the meaning of its different axes?
PCA compresses a matrix — two axes. Real data often has more. Tucker decomposition generalizes PCA to a tensor of any order: one factor matrix per axis, plus a small core tensor describing how the factors combine.
The tensor is real: 6,433 New York taxi trips poured into pickup borough × dropoff borough × hour of day. And the headline is not the compression ratio. It is that the decomposition discovered evening rush hour by itself — nobody told it about time, traffic or commuting.
Study here, then run the real thing: notebook 10 on Colab · the handbook · Kahoot 3
Built from the workshop’s own material by Ravi Kalia and Sebastian Laverde Chunza, CC BY 4.0.
Choose how to study
Flash Cards
Flip between question and answer, in both languages, at your own pace.
Rapid Repetition
Short sessions that resurface exactly what you forget, until it sticks.
Practice Test
Exam-style questions with a score at the end. Find your weak spots.
Quiz Game
Beat the clock: answer before time runs out and raise your high score.
Explore the topics
Read it all?
Rapid repetition replays exactly what you forget — the fastest way to lock it in before the exam.