SharkD wrote:
> I think I've been going about things entirely the wrong way. I'm more confused
> now than I was at the start... :(
> 


I'm not sure what this means.... finding extrema is a hard problem.  If you can
numerically differentiate the function with respect to conjugate axes which span the
parameter space it's a lot easier: then you end up finding the zeros of a function
rather than the extremes of one, and zeros are easier.

Post a reply to this message

Dan Connelly <djc### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> SharkD wrote:
> > I think I've been going about things entirely the wrong way. I'm more confused
> > now than I was at the start... :(
> >
>
>
> I'm not sure what this means.... finding extrema is a hard problem.  If you can
numerically differentiate the functio
n with respect to conjugate axes which span the parameter space it's a lot easier:
then you end up finding the zeros of
 a function rather than the extremes of one, and zeros are easier.

What I mean is that I have been wasting time trying to do calculations by hand
and "guess" my way through the problem. Instead, I have now plotted the
functions in GeoGebra which can do most of the calculations automatically. This
is what I should have done from the start.

I have now determined that it is easier and better to calculate the maximum
*possible* value of the curve based on a certain set of constants and variables
instead of calculating the maxima and minima of the curve itself. I won't bore
you further with the details.......

-Mike

Post a reply to this message

Dan Connelly <djc### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> Numerical Recipes has a chapter on the topic.
>
> Third Edition requires a subscription, or better, buy the book, which is a
> great read if you like numerical methods.  But the second edition is on-line
> for free:

There seem to be problems with _Numerical Recipes_:

http://www.uwyo.edu/buerkle/misc/wnotnr.html - Reliability issues.  The
criticisms appear to apply to the second edition.  Links to a rebuttal.

http://www.astro.umd.edu/~bjw/software/boycottnr.html - Licensing issues.  Which
edition is unspecified.  You'll need to disable <table>s (if your Web browser
can do that) in order to unscramble the page.

Post a reply to this message