Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/have-fun-approximations-mary-pat-campbell/
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Excerpt:
In the pre-computer days, people used these approximations due to having to do all calculations by hand or with the help of tables. Of course, many approximations are done by computers themselves — the way computers calculate functions such as sine() and exp() involves approaches like Taylor series expansions.
The specific approximation techniques I try (1 “exact” and 6 different approximation… including the final ones where I put approximations within approximations just because I can) are not important. But the concept that you should know how to try out and test approximation approaches in case you need them is important for those doing numerical computing.
Author(s): Mary Pat Campbell
Publication Date: 3 February 2016 (updated for links 2021)
Publication Site: LinkedIn, CompAct, Society of Actuaries