Image by Editor | Ideogram
As another year comes to a close, we wanted to come up with a way to showcase some of our many articles from throughout 2024. Normally we share a list of our most viewed articles (which we will be doing later this week as well!), but we decided to put a bit of a twist on things by trying a novel alternative approach.
That we did was ask our regularly contributing KDnuggets writing team members to select their favorite article — that they wrote — that was published in 2024, and let us know why it was their favorite of the year. We have compiled the results below, and invite everyone to check out the varied articles and reasons for themselves.
Please enjoy the favorite 2024 articles of our writing team, as you get to know their motivations a little bit better.
Bala Priya C, Contributing Editor & Technical Content Specialist
Bala’s favorite article of the year was 5 Common Python Gotchas (And How To Avoid Them)
Bala: “Python tutorials are always my favorite kind of articles to work on. And looking at some of Python’s sharp corners—focusing on immutability quirks and evasive scope—was especially fun. Instead of a how-to tutorial telling the reader “how” to do something, this one focuses on “how & why” some of Python’s features can surprise you—even in a supposedly simple code. I hope to do a part 2 to this article some day! As I’ve written in the article’s intro: here’s why I think Python devs may find (or would have found) this article useful (and perhaps interesting?). “Python is a beginner-friendly and versatile programming language known for its simplicity and readability. Its elegant syntax, however, is not immune to quirks that can surprise even experienced Python developers. And understanding these is essential for writing bug-free code—or pain-free debugging if you will.“
Nisha Arya, Contributing Editor
Nisha’s favorite article of the year was The Surge in Tech Layoffs 2024: Who’s to Blame?
Nisha: “When writing this article, I was also one of the victims of the unfortunate tech layoffs. When I was scoping my LinkedIn for jobs, I was seeing more ‘Open to Work’ banners than I ever have. It was at this point I started to do some digging into the stats behind the layoffs and wanted to provide a community who we’re widely affected some peace of mind to remain hopeful throughout the year“
Abid Ali Awan, Contributing Editor
Abid’s favorite article of the year was How to Learn Python the Lazy Way
Abid: “I have noticed a trend where students question why they need to learn to code if they can just ask ChatGPT to generate code for them. With new technology, the motivation to learn complex programming languages is decreasing. As an educator, I need to create a fun, interactive, unique study plan to help Gen Z develop the necessary skills to secure a developer job at a reputable company.“
Iván Palomares Carrascosa, Technical Content Specialist
Iván’s favorite article of the year was 10 Critical AI Concepts Explained in 5 Minutes
Iván: “This article synthesises one of my all-time favourite topics I like to teach as a coach and instructor during part of my professional work: understanding Artificial Intelligence and AI literacy fundamentals. Grasping the concepts put together in this article means for many learners all around the globe their first step in their AI journey, and it feels rewarding to make my little contribution to that.“
Jayita Gulati, Technical Content Specialist
Jayita’s favorite article of the year was How to Create YouTube Video Study Guides with NotebookLM
Jayita: “I enjoyed writing about creating YouTube study guides with NotebookLM because it shows how technology can help organize learning. Researching NotebookLM’s features helped me understand how it simplifies organizing notes, syncing video content, and enhancing study efficiency.“
Kanwal Mehreen, Technical Editor & Content Specialist
Kanwal’s favorite article of the year was Pip Install YOU: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Your Python Library
Kanwal: As a computer science student, I used Python packages all the time but always wondered how to create one myself. The tutorials I came across were either too advanced or skipped the basics, leaving me more confused. In 2024, I decided to write my own guide, “Pip Install YOU: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Your Python Library.” I wanted it to be short, clear, and easy to follow for anyone starting out. Looking back, it’s my favorite article because it turned an intimidating topic into something accessible, helpful, and fun—a small step towards empowering others in tech.
Shittu Olumide, Technical Content Specialist
Shittu’s favorite article of the year was Beginner’s Guide to Building LLM Apps with Python
Shittu: “I am particularly fascinated by the AI/LLM space, and when I got the opportunity to write this article for beginners, I had to flashback and use myself as a case study. Then, I began to write the article based on the questions I had when I was starting out to learn more about LLMs. I also did a lot of research to make sure my article was on point, the delivery was right, the code was accurate, and it was clear.“
Nate Rosidi, Market Trends & SQL Content Specialist
Nate’s favorite article of the year was Bootstrapping Your Data Science Career: A Guide to Self-Learning Pathways
Nate: “I really loved writing this article because I got to break down all the skills you need to be a data scientist and then find awesome resources to help people learn them. It took a while to hunt down all those resources, but I know it’ll save up-and-coming data scientists a ton of time and effort!“
Cornellius Yudha Wijaya, Technical Content Specialist
Cornellius’ favorite article of the year was Step-by-Step Tutorial to Building Your First Machine Learning Model
Cornellius: “I liked to write this one as it is returning to the basics, but it is still great to write as it requires some research to build a solid data science project. Moreover, it was received well by many, and many readers have said they loved it.“
The entire KDnuggets team hopes that you all had a fantastic 2024, and we wish you the very best for 2025 and beyond!
Matthew Mayo (@mattmayo13) holds a master’s degree in computer science and a graduate diploma in data mining. As managing editor of KDnuggets & Statology, and contributing editor at Machine Learning Mastery, Matthew aims to make complex data science concepts accessible. His professional interests include natural language processing, language models, machine learning algorithms, and exploring emerging AI. He is driven by a mission to democratize knowledge in the data science community. Matthew has been coding since he was 6 years old.