I&#x27;m a math geek, but I&#x27;m also a mostly self-taught data scientist.<p>&quot;The Elements of Statistical Learning&quot; (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;web.stanford.edu&#x2F;~hastie&#x2F;local.ftp&#x2F;Springer&#x2F;OLD&#x2F;ESLII_print4.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;web.stanford.edu&#x2F;~hastie&#x2F;local.ftp&#x2F;Springer&#x2F;OLD&#x2F;ESLI...</a>) is far and away the best book I&#x27;ve seen.<p>It took me hundreds of hours to get through it, but if you&#x27;re looking to understand things at a pretty deep level, I&#x27;d say it&#x27;s well-worth it.<p>Even if you stop at chapter 3, you&#x27;ll still know more than most people, and you&#x27;ll have a great foundation.<p>Hope this helps!