(Some day I need to figure out how Netscape DOES this. Switches mail between lists I'm on, on sending the message, sometimes. Ack! Also switches CC to BCC, sometimes. Weird. But it's a funny story <G>) We were talking on the PICList, about using the usual approximation for Sin(x) = roughly x - X^3/3 + x^5/5 etc... Mark Willis wrote: > > Paul B. Webster VK2BZC wrote: > > > > Dave VanHorn wrote: > > > > >> For small theta X ~ R > > > One thing, what do you mean by ~ here? > > > > "X is approximately equal to R". > > <snipped> > > -- > > Cheers, > > Paul B. > > Funny story I've heard. > > Apparently, one young engineer once decided to REALLY simplify sin(x), > when writing this function in assembly, they decided to just simply > return, not the tiny small x which is approximately the correct answer, > but, instead, 0 (Well, we DID say x is small, right? so it's close to > 0, right?) > > The craft this sin(x) approximation was supposed to be controlling, > had bad problems with the rudder never deflecting, for "some strange > mysterious reason". <VBG> > > Be careful not to OVER-optimize, I guess is the moral of this > story... Software testing can be a good idea, huh? > > Mark > > -- > Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of > "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" to> Wear-Hard Mailing List Archive (searchable): http://wearables.blu.org -- Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" to
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