Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Well, 7-year-olds don’t know a lot of math, typically, so I wouldn’t ask one that question. “Linear” has a very precise mathematical definition, which is not “made of some straight lines”, that when used properly enables entire fields of endeavor.

It would be less confusing if you chose a different word, or at least defined the ones you’re using. In fact, if you tried to precisely express what you mean by saying something is “more linear”, that might be a really interesting exploration.




It's perfectly legitimate to discuss the linear aspects of piecewise linear functions. I've heard Andrej Karpathy do it in precisely same way I did on this thread, talking about ReLU.

We just have a lot of very pedantic types on HN who intentionally misinterpret other people's posts in order to have something to "disprove".




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: