Oliver Chang

Runner, CS PhD candidate @UCSC, and baseball fan - but not necessarily in that order

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

Baseball: a symmetrical game

[Los Angeles Dodgers @Dodgers]

THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS ARE BACK-TO-BACK WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!

[Los Angeles Dodgers @Dodgers]

What a Sho.

Shohei Ohtani is your 2025 NLCS MVP!

[Los Angeles Dodgers @Dodgers]

A night to remember for 22.

[Richard Sutton @RichardSSutton]

My acceptance speech at the Turing award ceremony:

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
The main idea of reinforcement learning is that a machine might discover what to do on its own, without being told, from its own experience, by trial and error. As far as I know, the first person to propose this was Alan Turing in 1947, which makes it particularly gratifying and humbling to receive this award in his name for reviving this essential but still nascent idea.
I have three people that I would like to particularly thank.
First, Andy Barto. As my PhD supervisor he taught me my whole approach to science, and in particular instilled in me an appreciation of scholarship and craft, and of the great breath of prior work.
Second, I would like to thank Oliver Selfridge, my other main mentor; sadly, now deceased. Oliver taught me how keeping ideas simple can be the boldest of all ambitions.
Third, I want to thank Martha Steenstrup, my life partner and intellectual sparring partner. She keeps me honest and grounded.
Finally, I also want to thank the University of Alberta, which has been an ideal environment for me and for reinforcement learning research these past 22 years.
These three people and my university have reinforced in me the ambition to have ideas that matter, without getting too full of myself about it. They taught me that the quest for better ideas is serious, but is best approached playfully, with humility, kindness, and optimism. For this I am eternally grateful.
I would also like to thank all of you for being here and for celebrating the pursuit of intellectual excellence.
Thank you very much.

[Los Angeles Dodgers @Dodgers]

CLAYTON KERSHAW MAKES HISTORY AND JOINS THE 3,000 STRIKEOUT CLUB!

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

@LADodgersMuse Doesn't walk enough. He's only drawn 2 walks this entire season

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

https://t.co/HiagBtWdHj

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

Heart rate is the pulse of progress. Here is my average heart rate for every run leading up to the Monterey Bay Half Marathon

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

In case you're wondering, that last run where I had an avg HR of over 170 is the half marathon!

[Los Angeles Dodgers @Dodgers]

HISTORY!

SHOHEI OHTANI IS THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE 50/50 CLUB.

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

@uncle_semitic Whatever 🙄

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

Happy Opening Day! Some takes:
- I have the Dodgers v Orioles in the WS. Dodgers take it in 5
- NL west will finish in 1. Dodgers, 2. Dbacks, 3. Giants, 4. Padres, 5. Rockies
- Tyler Glasnow wins the Cy Young Award
#LetsGoDodgers

[Leilani sigmoid.social/@leilani @leilanigilpin]

Heading to #AAAI2024 today with @runnerdude97 to meet up with @larosabiagio and others for the XAI for DRL workshop: https://t.co/8BWfzgwIec. Let me know if you're around!

[The PhD Place @ThePhDPlace]

No more procrastinating for me today, time to PhD like a boss.

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 209 9/9:
Rarity: 68
IMMACULATE!
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
Play at:
https://t.co/41A6Udtny8
@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

Go Phillies

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

Channeling energy from 1950: the biggest comeback win for the #Dodgers with an 8 run deficit

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

It finally happened. I've been asked to write my first letter of recommendation for an intern 🥹

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

I hope to utilize this matrix for reinforcment learning. I look forward to developing AI driven baseball analytics soon!

[Oliver Chang @runnerdude97]

A Markov chain of pitch count sequences. Each Cell represents the probability of going from a particular pitch count (state) to the next outcome. Below I compare 2017 Clayton Kershaw and rookie Jordan Montgomery.
#MLB
#baseballstats
#Dodgers