# A Plain-English Introduction to Markov Chain Monte Carlo

DevFeed: [A Plain-English Introduction to Markov Chain Monte Carlo](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/markov-chain-monte-carlo-without-all-the-bullshit-40381.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.jeremykun.com/2015/04/06/markov-chain-monte-carlo-without-all-the-bullshit/>)

Published: 2015-04-06T09:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Jeremy Kun](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/jeremy-kun.md>)

Topics: [Statistics](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/statistics.md>), [Simulation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/simulation.md>), [Algorithms](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/algorithms.md>), [Parameter](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/parameter.md>)

Tags: [algorithm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/algorithm.md>), [markov-chain](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/markov-chain.md>), [mathematics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mathematics.md>), [mcmc](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mcmc.md>), [monte-carlo](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/monte-carlo.md>), [random-walk](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/random-walk.md>), [simulation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/simulation.md>), [statistics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/statistics.md>)

## AI overview

A tutorial explaining Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) as a way to sample from a complicated probability distribution. It introduces Markov chains, target distributions, proposal distributions, acceptance rules, and the basic sampling problem.

## Source excerpt

I have a little secret: I don't like the terminology, notation, and style of writing in statistics. I find it unnecessarily complicated. This shows up when trying to read about Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. Take, for example, the abstract to the Markov Chain Monte Carlo article in the Encyclopedia of Biostatistics. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a technique for estimating by simulation the expectation of a statistic in a complex model.