Do not speed read. Nielsen is dense with insight. Spend one week on Chapter 2 (Backpropagation). Write out the four fundamental equations on a whiteboard until you can derive them in your sleep.
Transformers are built on the foundation of feedforward networks, backpropagation, and gradient-based optimization. If you try to understand a Transformer without knowing Nielsen, you are building a skyscraper on sand. Every innovation in the last five years (ResNets, BatchNorm, Diffusion models) is a modification of the principles Nielsen teaches. By mastering this "outdated" PDF, you gain the ability to read any modern paper and understand why the modifications work. To ensure that the "neural networks and deep learning by Michael nielsen pdf" is actually better for your retention, follow this 3-step protocol: Do not speed read
Do not download the pre-written code. Type it out from the PDF manually. Introduce bugs. Fix them. When Nielsen suggests changing the eta (learning rate) from 3.0 to 0.5, do it. Watch your accuracy drop. That is learning. Write out the four fundamental equations on a