Explore the intricacies of escaping saddle points efficiently in this 51-minute conference talk by Praneeth Netrapalli at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences. Delve into non-convex optimization techniques, examining two major observations and the current state of the art. Gain insights into perturbed gradient descent, analyzing its application in two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and general quadratic cases. Understand the key ingredients and proof ideas behind efficient saddle point escape methods. Conclude with a discussion on open questions in the field, providing a comprehensive overview of this crucial topic in algorithms and optimization.