AI engineering glossary · Calculus optimisation
What is natural logarithm?
Natural logarithm: The logarithm with base e, written ln(x) or log(x). It is the inverse of the exponential function, and its derivative is 1/x. It turns products into sums, which keeps probabilities numerically stable and simplifies gradients of likelihoods and cross-entropy.
Natural logarithm: an example
ln(e^3) = 3, and ln(0.5 * 0.4 * 0.9) = ln(0.5) + ln(0.4) + ln(0.9). The slope of ln(x) at x = 4 is 0.25.
Related terms
More Calculus optimisation terms
- Nesterov momentum
- Newton's method
- Numerical differentiation
- Objective function
- Optimisation problem
- Partial derivative
- Power rule
- Preconditioning
Where you learn it
Natural logarithm is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.