Week 31 — Retrieval math

Engineering micro-projects and applied ML primitives · Implement

Medium

Phase 4 — Engineering micro-projects and applied ML primitives

Overview

Cosine similarity, exact KNN

Mode this week: implement. Match the work to that mode (operating model): implement ships running code; read/diagram ships a doc; deploy/benchmark ships a measured run. Personal dates, checkboxes, and the RPG layer stay in a learner journal.

Core deliverable

Vector search mini-lab

Optional depth

Add a benchmark, failure-mode analysis, and a short production trade-off note.

Week loop (from the cookiecutter journal)

Mon — Theory: Cosine similarity, exact KNN
Tue — Build: start the core deliverable above
Wed — Systems / papers: one paper or system note (see below if this week has assigned reading)
Thu — Eval / interview: write the four evidence items
Fri — Algorithmic Forge: Retrieval/cache primitive plus timed data-structure drill (45-90 min; Core)

Forge theme: Heaps, hashing, tries, linked structures, intervals, basic pattern matching

Leetcode Darbar (parallel)

This week's band (31-45): Heaps, linked lists, tries, range queries, hashing. Production connection: Retrieval, Top-K, caching, sketches, routing.

Standard: one aligned problem. Auror: the five-slot queue on the Darbar page. Tracker stays in the learner journal.

Topics: heap · linked list · range query · trie

The K Weakest Rows In A Matrix · easy · heap
Sort List · medium · linked list
Queue Reconstruction By Height · medium · range query
Word Search Ii · hard · trie

Evidence contract

Every core week records all four (cookiecutter journal/weeks/week_031.md):

Code / implementation (or the design artifact on a writing week)
Benchmark / result
Design doc / technical explanation
Retrospective / learning note (Sailboat: destination, wind, anchor, rocks, heading)

On this site

Official Tensor-to-Tenant

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