Re^4: [OT] Statistics question.

Are your *much* larger numbers perfect squares? If so, you can avoid the problem by factoring into the sum and difference of their square roots.

Bill

Comment on Re^4: [OT] Statistics question.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^5: [OT] Statistics question. by roboticus (Chancellor) on Jan 30, 2013 at 23:36 UTC
Bill: I was getting ginormous values like 1.6...E30 and the like. Since I'm using exp(...) to generate them, I never have nice integers to play with, so I doubt they form perfect squares or such. But I'm not current on things like that, so I could be wrong. ...roboticus When your only tool is a hammer, all problems look like your thumb.	[reply]
Re^6: [OT] Statistics question. by BillKSmith (Monsignor) on Jan 31, 2013 at 21:23 UTC
It sounds like my method will not help you in this case. I have used it in solving triangles. I want `$b=sqrt($c2-$a2)`. The mathematically equivalent statement `$b=sqrt(($c+$a)*($c-$a))` allocates almost twice as many bits for the subtraction. Not knowing this simple trick added weeks of effort to my first real FORTRAN program. Bill	[reply] [d/l] [select]