My name is Mike Laaksonen, aka Magus in the scene. I am Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning designer, data scientist and game developer by profession.
As a programmer I was self taught and worked as professional software and database developer before I got my university degree. After that I worked as PhD researcher in university for several years specializing in Data Science and predictive analytics.
My history in programming is quite long. I was always fascinated with mathematics, science and technology as a kid. I was bit over 10 years old when I started to dabble with programming - first with programmable calculators and quite soon after that with real computers. When I found the limits of high level programming languages, I taught myself low level machine language, assembler and started to shuffle data on bit level. I think I was 16 when I did my first programming contract.
I worked in game industry before my academic and data science career, but couple of years ago I decided to return to the roots. Now I have been developing games again for several years, focusing on VR and AR experiences. RPG genre is my favorite subject, since that is where my gaming career begun.
I have a broad range of other interests, from mathematics, physics, technology and astronomy to history, culture, politics, ecology, biology, languages and arts.
But really, that is enough of me and my background. Forthcoming newsletters won’t be about me, but about things I find interesting.
I am glad you decided to start reading my thoughts and personal discoveries!