Getting started with machine learning

Machine learning (ML) is all the hotness right now. There is literally a new story every week about a complicated problem that was solved using ML. Most of my coworkers and friends in the industry have expressed interest in learning about ML, but have not been able gain a foot hold. I believe the problem is that the current books and online classes are overwhelming; scaring away students before they have a chance to build up confidence. The problem I had when I started learning ML was that the tutorials insisted on teaching the math that is fundamental for machine learning to work.