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From: oded@wisdom.weizmann.ac.IL (Oded Maler)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: inter/extra
Message-ID: <8907190741.AA29850@wisdocs.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il>
Date: 19 Jul 89 13:41:13 GMT
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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)