Least squares fit of a surface in Python (with ridiculous application)

Re:Least squares fit of a surface in Python (with ridiculous... by petercooper on Tuesday June 16, 2009 @03:45PM (#660763)

This reminds me of the tale about the US spending millions of dollars to build a pen that would work in zero gravity. After it was made, it was noted the Russians simply used pencils!

The parallel here is to get a chair without wheels. I find all these calculations interesting as a geek but in terms of the efficiency of the task, "fail" :)

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Re:Least squares fit of a surface in Python (with ridiculous... by pingswept on Tuesday June 16, 2009 @03:51PM (#660776)

I am familiar with this "chair without wheels" technology you mention. The slope is steep enough that the tilt is still annoying, but a chair with legs of unequal length might have solved that.

The efficiency was, however, very close to 100%. You're just measuring the wrong thing.

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Re:Least squares fit of a surface in Python (with ridiculous... by petercooper on Tuesday June 16, 2009 @07:40PM (#661115)

we have found that this is steep enough to make a desk chair roll– kind of irritating

The only premise I could sense was related to the rolling.

The efficiency was, however, very close to 100%. You're just measuring the wrong thing.

As you seem to have focused on how fun the exercise was, you are more than likely right.

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Re:Least squares fit of a surface in Python (with ridiculous... by andrewl on Tuesday June 16, 2009 @04:41PM (#660857)

The space pen story is not true, according to Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

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Re:Least squares fit of a surface in Python (with ridiculous... by petercooper on Tuesday June 16, 2009 @07:31PM (#661103)

Agreed, and an interesting link. That is why I called it a tale.

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