oded@wisdom.weizmann.ac.IL (Oded Maler) (07/19/89)
Interpolation/Extrapolation
===========================
The general problem is to predict the value of a function f:X->Y on
some point/s (elements of X) based on a sample {(x1,f(x1)),...}. The
difference between extra and inter polation as I see it (I'm not so
fast in opening dictionaries) is meaningful only if there is some
order relation on X, so that being *between* x1 and x2 is well
defined. So it seems that extrapolation is the more general term. One
can try to define the domain X to be the power set (set of all
subsets) of the human race and define inclusion as a partial order
etc., but why bother. We may as well call it induction. Anyway, who
needs those Latin words - we know *we* are smarter than *you* whatever
the semantics is (:-))
Oded Maler
Department of Applied Mathematics
Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot 76100, Israel
(oded@wisdom.bitnet or
oded@wisdom.weizmann.ac.il)