juniorGradient Descent
What is cost function convexity?
Updated May 16, 2026
Short answer
Convexity means the cost function has a single global minimum.
Deep explanation
In convex functions, any local minimum is also global minimum. Gradient Descent works reliably in convex settings because there are no deceptive local minima.
Real-world example
Linear regression optimization.
Common mistakes
- Assuming all ML loss functions are convex.
Follow-up questions
- Why is convex optimization easier?
- Are neural networks convex?