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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

Order of a calculation

English answer:

reduce the computational complexity / simplify

Added to glossary by Barbara L Pavlik
Dec 21, 2016 11:51
7 yrs ago
English term

Order of a calculation

English Science Mathematics & Statistics Calculatons
I am editing a paper on the effects of an oil pipeline on permafrost, and the author would like to find a term to describe the process for reducing the number of calculations needed to solve a problem. She has made mention of the "Order of the problem" and the "dimension of the problem" but is not sure of the correct terminology, and neither am I. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your input!
Responses
4 reduce the computational complexity
3 +9 simplify
3 +2 scale of the problem
References
simplifying complexity

Discussion

Barbara L Pavlik (asker) Jan 1, 2017:
Grrr, I have already graded this question twice, and it hasn't taken. Hopefully, third time's a charm.
Tony M Dec 22, 2016:
@ Daryo Yes, quite; but what they seem to be saying here is that by grouping together certain sites, they are probably not changing the algorithm used for the calculation, but rather, the number of distinct date sets to be processed — hence, to me, it is the 'scale of the task'.
Daryo Dec 21, 2016:
@ Barbara L Pavlik you got it right!

Méfiez vous de votre première impression c'est souvent la bonne!
Terry Richards Dec 21, 2016:
Definitely NOT order Mathematically, the order of a problem is the highest power used - if your equation contains x squared, it is order 2. Reducing the order does simplify the problem but that is not what they are doing here.

In fact "simplify" is a perfectly good word in this situation, both in terms of English usage and mathematically.
Barbara L Pavlik (asker) Dec 21, 2016:
What about "reduce the computational complexity of the problem/equation"?
Barbara L Pavlik (asker) Dec 21, 2016:
The sentence (as wtritten by a non-native speaker) is "To reduce the dimension of the analysis task of soil temperature dynamic, it is rational to group TCs located at sites with similar physical-geographic and permafrost conditions."

Responses

2 hrs
Selected

reduce the computational complexity

a term to describe the process for reducing the number of calculations needed to solve a problem?

computational complexity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_complexity_of_ma...
Peer comment(s):
agree Didier Fourcot : Technically much better than source, however is it an editor's job to heighten the language level?
50 mins
good point, but as I understand it, the point of this question was to get the right technical term / to use the "trade jargon" / to indulge in the "expert's lingo" ... Thanks!
neutral Tony M : I don't think this is a technical issue of 'computational complexity' (as one might find, e.g. at program code level) but simply of 'making the job easier'; note original author's use of 'task', which clearly points to the less formal sense here.
1 hr
"computational complexity" has more to do with the complexity of the algorithm used, no matter if the calculation is done with pen and paper or using a supercomputer ...
disagree acetran : . Welcome "New" Moaner-in Chief!
1 day 22 hrs
the notion of "complexity" too complex for you? a single dot is really an extremely convincing argument ... or it's some new minimalist fashion I'm not aware of, to be used as an excuse for laziness? or to hide the incapacity to string even a word?
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This is what the author finally went with."
+2
25 mins

scale of the problem

That's one term we would often use for a physical 'problem' — "it was only once the flood-waters had subsided that they could see the true scale of the problem"

I'm rather less sure, however, if it will sit well when applied to a more abstract 'mathematical problem'? It probably could work alright, but it does rather depend on exactly how it is to be used in a sentence?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 minutes (2016-12-21 12:31:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"In order to reduce the magnitude / scale of the task involved in analysing the dynamics of soil temperature, it makes sense to group together TCs at sites with similar physical/geographic and permafrost conditions."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 minutes (2016-12-21 12:32:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"...analysing soil temperature dynamics..."
Note from asker:
The sentence (as wtritten by a non-native speaker) is "To reduce the dimension of the analysis task of soil temperature dynamic, it is rational to group TCs located at sites with similar physical-geographic and permafrost conditions."
Peer comment(s):
agree Henk Sanderson
1 hr
Thanks, Henk!
neutral Daryo : or possibly "order of complexity"
1 hr
As Terry says, any mention of 'order' is unsuitable here, because of its technical meaning; all this would do is make the sentence more clumsy and rather pompous in register.
agree acetran
2 days 28 mins
Thanks, Ace!
Something went wrong...
+9
39 mins

simplify

"to simplify analysis of the soil temperature dynamic"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2016-12-21 13:54:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I don't think there is a standard mathematical term for "reduce the number of calculations"; I don't see what is wrong with incorporating it in the sentence, e.g.

"To reduce the number of calculations in the analysis of the soil temperature dynamic, TCs at sites with similar physical/geographic and permafrost conditions are grouped together." (or "have been grouped together" depending on the tense being used).
Note from asker:
Could be. Personally, I would be satisfied with this, but she seems to be pressing me to come up with some standard mathematical term.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : Another way of taking it... / And I don't believe there IS any 'standard mathematical term' — the original sentece simply refers to making the "task" les complex = simpler.
1 min
agree Jack Doughty
37 mins
agree acetran
1 hr
disagree Daryo : good enough for informal chit-chat, but in fact there ARE specialised terms used to describe levels of complexity of various calculations
1 hr
agree Terry Richards : Sorry for my previous disagree, it was meant to be a discussion entry.
1 hr
agree Yasutomo Kanazawa
2 hrs
agree philgoddard : If Daryo disagrees with something, I usually find myself agreeing...
3 hrs
agree B D Finch
5 hrs
agree Yvonne Gallagher : with Phil
10 hrs
agree Ashutosh Mitra
1 day 4 hrs
agree Piyush Ojha
2 days 4 hrs
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Reference comments

5 hrs
Reference:

simplifying complexity

Rather than complexificationifying it!

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/97507
"To simplify the calculations of the flattening-filter profile, we have developed a computer program which sums primary and scatter and then makes iterations in ... "

www.sr.bham.ac.uk/yr4pasr/project06/GT/Prolate.html
"It is designed to simplify the calculations in a three dimensional plane involving electric fields and electrodes. Rs being the anode-screen radius, d the tip-screen ..."
Reference:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/97507

http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/yr4pasr/project06/GT/Prolate.html

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