#118 Exploring the Future of Stan, with Charles Margossian & Brian Ward

Learning Bayesian Statistics

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Takeaways:

• User experience is crucial for the adoption of Stan.
• Recent innovations include adding tuples to the Stan language, new features and improved error messages.
• Tuples allow for more efficient data handling in Stan.
• Beginners often struggle with the compiled nature of Stan.
• Improving error messages is crucial for user experience.
• BridgeStan allows for integration with other programming languages and makes it very easy for people to use Stan models.
• Community engagement is vital for the development of Stan.
• New samplers are being developed to enhance performance.
• The future of Stan includes more user-friendly features.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Live Episode

02:55 Meet the Stan Core Developers

05:47 Brian Ward's Journey into Bayesian Statistics

09:10 Charles Margossian's Contributions to Stan

11:49 Recent Projects and Innovations in Stan

15:07 User-Friendly Features and Enhancements

18:11 Understanding Tuples and Their Importance

21:06 Challenges for Beginners in Stan

24:08 Pedagogical Approaches to Bayesian Statistics

30:54 Optimizing Monte Carlo Estimators

32:24 Reimagining Stan's Structure

34:21 The Promise of Automatic Reparameterization

35:49 Exploring BridgeStan

40:29 The Future of Samplers in Stan

43:45 Evaluating New Algorithms

47:01 Specific Algorithms for Unique Problems

50:00 Understanding Model Performance

54:21 The Impact of Stan on Bayesian Research

Thank you to my Patrons for making this episode possible!

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