I'm currently studying limits because of my calculus class and i've wondered how for example wolfram alpha computes the limit of a sequence. Is it more a brute force way, or is there an efficient method to calculate/find them?
Calculating the limit of a sequence
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limits
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1I would guess, since most of the sequences we give are monotonic it would search for a greatest lower bound or least upper bound(if at all the sequence is convergent). – 2011-11-09
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Different sequences require different methods. I'm sure alpha has a suite of methods available and it analyzes the sequence to see which (if any) of its methods applies. Not all that different from the way humans do it.
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3Additionally, the most expedient route for a machine may not be the easiest route for a human, and vice-versa. – 2011-11-10