Welcome


This is the free html version of the book. The pdf version can be purchased (free for a limited period of time!) at Leanpub.

This book is a compilation of the most common mistakes when building machine learning models. I have gathered this list from mistakes I typically find when grading assignments, supervising graduate students, reading blog posts, looking at the accompanying code of published papers, and of course, from my own experience making those mistakes.

Understanding and being aware of those common mistakes will allow you not only to avoid them, but to build better machine learning systems and less prone to errors. This book includes examples in Python. Some examples of mistakes that you will find in this book include:

  • Not understanding the data
  • Including irrelevant variables
  • Data injection
  • Assuming all users behave the same
  • Wasting unlabeled data
  • and much more!

The accompanying source code for all examples is available at https://github.com/enriquegit/ml-mistakes-code

The front cover captures a representation of the majestic Neural Tree being attacked by the so called neuruptors. Fortunately, the Science-Fish-Team is here to protect the integrity and well-being of the tree.

About the Author

My name is Enrique and I am a researcher/professor at Tecnologico de Monterrey University. Previously, I worked as a Research Scientist at Optimeering and at SINTEF Research Center, Norway. I did a postdoc at the University of Oslo and obtained my PhD from Tecnologico de Monterrey University, Mexico. I also worked as a software engineer at Huawei.

Contact me:

You can drop me a message and/or rate this book by filling this form.

website: http://www.enriquegc.com


This is a live document and I will keep updating it and adding new content. Chapters’ order may change.




Copyright © 2025 Enrique Garcia Ceja
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for the use of brief quotations. To request permissions, contact the author.