Samson Gourevitch
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Categories
All (6)
algebra (1)
continuous-time processes (1)
diffusion (3)
discrete data (1)
expectation-maximization (2)
Galois theory (1)
generative modeling (1)
guidance (1)
hidden markov models (1)
markov chains (1)
posterior sampling (1)
representation learning (1)
speech recognition (1)
topology (1)
variational inference (1)

Writing

Writing

Notes and writing

Short notes on diffusion, probability, and adjacent topics. I use this page for technical explanations and research-adjacent writing that do not belong on the publications list.

 

From EM to the ELBO

expectation-maximization
variational inference
generative modeling

Why exact EM breaks down for nonlinear latent-variable models and how variational inference leads to the ELBO.

Aug 30, 2026

Why There Is No Quintic Formula

algebra
topology
Galois theory

An elementary topological sketch of the Abel–Ruffini theorem using root permutations, monodromy, and commutators.

Aug 1, 2026

Learning Embeddings with Diffusion Models

diffusion
discrete data
representation learning

Why unconstrained joint learning of embeddings and diffusion models is ill-posed for discrete data.

Jun 26, 2026

Posterior Flows for Diffusion Models

diffusion
posterior sampling
guidance

A concise overview of posterior sampling methods for diffusion and flow models

May 31, 2026
 

Expectation-Maximization, from Latent Variables to Speech

expectation-maximization
hidden markov models
speech recognition

A draft introduction to EM, with a toy Baum-Welch speech-recognition demo that visualizes the E-step and M-step.

May 15, 2026

Doob’s h-Transform and Conditional Markov Chains

diffusion
markov chains
continuous-time processes

A short introduction to Doob’s h-transform and its applications to guided diffusion models.

Apr 10, 2026
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Samson Gourevitch

 

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