Order of a calculation

English translation: reduce the computational complexity / simplify

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:Order of a calculation
Selected answer:reduce the computational complexity / simplify
Entered by: Barbara L Pavlik

11:51 Dec 21, 2016
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Science - Mathematics & Statistics / Calculatons
English term or phrase: Order of a calculation
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!
Barbara L Pavlik
United States
Local time: 04:14
reduce the computational complexity
Explanation:
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...
Selected response from:

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:14
Grading comment
This is what the author finally went with.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +9simplify
Mark Nathan
3 +2scale of the problem
Tony M
4reduce the computational complexity
Daryo
Summary of reference entries provided
simplifying complexity
B D Finch

Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
order of a calculation
scale of the problem


Explanation:
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?

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

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Note added at 40 minutes (2016-12-21 12:32:18 GMT)
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"...analysing soil temperature dynamics..."

Tony M
France
Local time: 09:14
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
Notes to answerer
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 comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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!
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39 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +9
order of a calculation
simplify


Explanation:
"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).

Mark Nathan
France
Local time: 09:14
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
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 comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
order of a calculation
reduce the computational complexity


Explanation:
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...

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:14
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
This is what the author finally went with.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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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Reference comments


5 hrs
Reference: simplifying complexity

Reference information:
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
    Reference: http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/yr4pasr/project06/GT/Prolate.html
B D Finch
France
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
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