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This type of system suggests articles a user is likely to find relevant, based on their past behavior, preferences, or similar users’ behavior.
What is a recommender system?
Birders use this optical tool, usually written as numbers like “8x42,” to get a closer look at distant birds.
What are binoculars?
This Electric‑type mouse Pokémon is the franchise mascot and famously partners with Ash Ketchum.
Who is Pikachu?
This is the team member we're celebrating today.
Who is Bret?
This horizontally scrollable layout often used on news homepages shows a row of story cards that users can swipe or click through, letting the recommender rank multiple headlines in a compact space.
What is a carousal?
Birders don’t just use their eyes; many can identify species by the unique melodies, whistles, and calls they hear in the field, a skill that comes from carefully learning this.
What is a bird song?
These colorful items are used to catch Pokémon in almost every game and appear on many card artworks.
What are poké balls?
This homepage module, which was one of Bret's early accomplishments, provides article recommendations for subscribers.
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Currently powering over 15 modules on our homepage, this type of algorithm imagines each article as a slot machine “arm” and learns over time which arms to pull more often.
What is a multi-armed bandit?
This desert‑loving SoCal bird, famous from cartoons, actually sprints across the ground in scrub and chaparral and belongs to the cuckoo family.
What is the Greater Roadrunner?
This villainous trio—Jessie, James, and a talking Meowth—constantly tries to steal Pikachu in the tv show.
Who is Team Rocket?
Our departing teammate calls this part of Los Angeles home.
What is Mar Vista?
This classic recommender problem describes what happens when a brand‑new user or a brand‑new article has almost no interaction data, making it hard to generate good personalized suggestions.
What is the cold-start problem?
This term describes a bird that shows up outside its normal range or season, sending local birders racing to go see it.
What is a vagrant (or rarity)?
A Pokémon card that has a sparkling, reflective background image is often called this, making it extra collectible.
What is a holo (or holographic) card?
Though a California native, Bret spent a year living in this Canadian city.
What is Vancouver?
These are the two classic families of recommender approaches: one relies on user behavior patterns to find similar users or items, and the other relies on item attributes like tags or metadata.
What are collaborative filtering and content-based filtering?
This tiny, hyperactive SoCal songbird with a fiery red crown patch (often hidden) flicks its wings constantly and joins mixed flocks in winter; its name highlights that bright ruby patch.
What is the Ruby‑crowned Kinglet?
This rare card misprint from the early sets, featuring a Fire‑type starter with a first‑edition symbol and a missing drop shadow, became one of the most famous error cards in the hobby.
What is the shadowless first‑edition Charizard (error/misprint version)?
This bird‑watching group has a name that makes it clear they’re not just looking for hawks and sparrows, they’re also firmly against authoritarian politics.
What is Bird Watchers Against Fascism?