4 ms·
I’m no expert, just a humble biostatistics student, generally when you sum together a lot of random variables following a specific distribution you end up with
by ImaCake 5y ago
I’m no expert, just a humble biostatistics student, generally when you sum together a lot of random variables following a specific distribution you end up with basically the same distribution (scaled by the N random vars). So a lot of sigmoids put together (e.g. covid spread) will still eventually be a sigmoid. Biology seems to run on sigmoids that at first look like exponentials.
- hyperpallium2 5y agoThese ones aren't random, because they build on previous ones. In nature, you get a sigmoid because you run out of resource, I think? True at any scale. Pragmatic people point will out one limit on GI is all the accessible matter in the universe. But, theoretically, I think, there is no limit on complexity. BTW you might like this paper on the exponential growth in complexity of life on earth, over long timescales. https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/04/15/113741/moores-law-and-the-origin-of-life/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/04/15/113741/moores-la...
- bloak 5y ago> generally when you sum together a lot of random variables following a specific distribution you end up with basically the same distribution (scaled by the N random vars). So a lot of sigmoids put together (e.g. covid spread) will still eventually be a sigmoid. I haven't studied statistics very much, but I'm fairly sure the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_limit_theorem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_limit_theorem says something a bit different from that!
- ImaCake 5y agoWoops yes. If you sum them together you do get a normal dist. Come to think of it a cumulative normal distribution is a sigmoid.