Learn in the textbookNeural Networks and Deep Learning
DefinitionA neural network (ニューラルネットワーク) is a learning model that links units of computation in layers, imitating how the brain's nerve cells (neurons) connect to one another.
ExplanationData enters at the input layer, passes through the middle layer (hidden layer), and comes out of the output layer as a result. Each line connecting one layer to the next carries a number called a weight, which sets how strongly a given input is passed on. Learning means adjusting these weights until the network produces results that fit the data.
AnalogyPicture a line of people playing telephone, where each person decides how much weight to give the previous speaker's message before passing it on, and those choices are tuned bit by bit until the last person says the right answer.
Memory hook"Neural" means "relating to nerves" and a network is a web, so the name reads simply as "a web of nerves."