Summary

Activation functions are crucial in neural networks, introducing non-linearity and enabling the modeling of complex patterns across varied tasks. This guide delves into the evolution, characteristics, and applications of state-of-the-art activation functions, illustrating their role in enhancing neural network performance. It discusses the transition from classic functions like sigmoid and tanh to advanced ones such as ReLU and its variants, addressing challenges like the vanishing gradient problem and the dying ReLU issue. Concluding with practical heuristics for selecting activation functions, the article emphasizes the importance of considering network architecture and task specifics, highlighting the rich diversity of activation functions available for optimizing neural network designs.