this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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Math Memes

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This is an excerpt from my math models textbook. It's about Lagrange Polynomials which is a technique that lets you fit a polynomial to a set of any number of unique points (x_1,y_1) ... (x_n,y_n) so long as all your x-values are different (otherwise it wouldn't be a function, and couldn't be a polynomial). The polynomial you'll calculate will be the unique, lowest degree polynomial that passes through all points.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

OK, you got it then, I believe. P3 is specifically built so that P3(xn)=yn for n from 1 to 4. The proof lies in its construction. I guess the sentence can be understood as "we know it works because we built it like that, however you may verify it yourself"

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

I feel like the sentence also means "it's kinda obvious when you think about it, so we won't explain, but it's actually important, so you probably should make sure you agree".