https://blog.lukesalamone.com/tags/demo/ Recent content in Demo on Luke Salamone's Blog Hugo en-us Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:57:57 -0700 https://blog.lukesalamone.com/posts/can-a-neural-net-learn/ Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:57:57 -0700 https://blog.lukesalamone.com/posts/can-a-neural-net-learn/ <p>A neural network is a type of function originally inspired by how the brain works. However, what makes it particularly useful in machine learning are the following properties:</p> <ol> <li>Neural networks can approximate any continuous function (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_approximation_theorem">universal approximation theorem</a>)</li> <li>We have an effective way to fit a neural network to input data, called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpropagation">backpropagation</a>.</li> <li>Using the neural network (forward propagation) and training the network (backpropagation) can both be done very efficiently using existing hardware (GPUs).</li> </ol> <p>Below you can experiment with fitting a small neural net to a function and watch as it learns. You can select sample functions from the dropdown, write your own custom function, and specify the (fully connected) neural network structure.</p>