Jun 28, 2020
Kevin Systrom - After Instagram: Bayesian modeling of COVID-19 with PyMC3
Kevin Systrom is the co-founder and former CEO of Instagram. In this episode we talk about his time after leaving the company, whether becoming a billionaire made him happier, how to decide what to work on, the Japanese concept of Ikigai, or a reason for being, and meditation.
We then dive into his current project -- rt.live -- a website which tracks the spread characteristics of COVID-19. The statistical model underlying the website is Bayesian and built using PyMC3. Kevin shares why he chose that approach and how he got started on PyMC3.
*Show notes*
* Kevin Systrom on Twitter and his blog
* Instagram
* Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
* The Mind Illuminated
* COVID-19 tracking: https://rt.live
* An Intuitive Guide to Bayesian Statistics
* PyMC3
* Statistical Rethinking by McElreath
* Bayesian Methods for Hackers by Cam Davidson-Pilon
Special thanks to all my patrons, specifically Jonathan Ng, Richard Craib, Daniel Gerlanc, and Ayan Doss.Support the show