Why is rewriting $x^2 -y^2$ as $(x+y)(x-y)$ a way to avoid catastrophic cancellation?
We are still doing $(x-y)$. Is it because the last operation in the second form is a multiplication?
Why is rewriting $x^2 -y^2$ as $(x+y)(x-y)$ a way to avoid catastrophic cancellation?
We are still doing $(x-y)$. Is it because the last operation in the second form is a multiplication?