Free Textbook: Algebraic Topology for Data Scientists and TDA
burkov · x · 2026-11-16
A recommendation for the free online 2023 textbook Algebraic Topology for Data Scientists by Michael S. Postol.
Aimed at readers in data science, computer science and analytics with no prior algebraic topology training, its central subject is topological data analysis (TDA): using algebraic descriptions of shape and connectivity to complement conventional data and machine-learning methods.
The book first develops the language of spaces, continuous maps, algebraic structures, simplicial complexes and homology, then uses that groundwork to explain persistent homology. Readers encounter ways to represent persistence, assess stability, and turn topological summaries into numerical features for clustering and classification.
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