What’s the most effective way to study machine learning as a beginner?

You don’t need to memorize every line of code. Focus on understanding the concepts, the reasoning behind each step, and the general workflow. Keep short notes about what a technique does, when to use it, and any important assumptions. You can always look up the exact syntax later.

Practice is more useful than passively watching videos. Work through small datasets and projects, and use problem-solving platforms to reinforce each topic. A good routine is to learn one concept, implement it, explain it in your own words, and then use it in a small project. Research papers can come later, once you have enough fundamentals to understand and evaluate them.

For something like a log transformation, learn what problem it solves, how it changes the data, and when it might be inappropriate. You should be able to recognize and explain the operation, then use documentation or an assistant to check the syntax. Still, try writing the code yourself instead of relying completely on generated code, and make sure you understand and test anything suggested.