Talk:Nonlinear regression

message: I'm moving some questions from the article page to the talk page. 
:--is there a rigorous theory of when analytic solutions are possible?
:--are there some models that have no analytic solutions, but have iterative solutions that are guarenteed to converge to the global optimal?
These can be addressed in the article text at some point. Wile E. Heresiarch 15:15, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Good lord, what an unfortunate term then.  It really shouldn't be called "linear" if it isn't simply meant to imply a linear relationship between x and y.  If I hadn't chanced upon these Wikipedia articles, I'd continue to have no idea about these peculiar term usages, which I had thought I knew for 25 years. 207.189.230.42 (talk) 08:05, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Questions 

message: The use of Monte Carlo deserves consideration.  However, as it seems to me, the material just added has several problems.  In essence, this is kind of jumping the gun on full development of the article.  
1.  There is not yet, and needs to be, a section on inference for nonlinear regression.  Statistical inference is what distinguishes nonlinear regression from curve fitting.  Most procedures from linear regression have analogues in nonlinear regression.  The mention of Monte Carlo would belong in that section.
2.  I think you are talking about parametric bootstrap.  Why not mention nonparametric bootstrap (ordinarily, resampling).
3.  You have put in an unusual procedure when as yet there is no mention of the standard errors available in standard nonlinear regression software.
4.  The title is not correct.  The material suggested is about evaluating error, not about parameter estimation.  I don't think Monte Carlo is used for parameter estimation.  
5.  The use of Monte Carlo simulation as described could be considered for many statistical models. The material is not specific to nonlinear regression.  
6.  Use of Monte Carlo to evaluate sampling error is an important procedure in practice.  I would say we do need to review other articles to see that this is covered.  For example, since such materials may be used by government statisticians, it is a service to the public to provide some material.
If these points are not addressed, I will  most likely take a shot at them at some point.  
Dfarrar 21:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Some Problems with the Material added, on Monte Carlo 

message: This article has been subject to a major revision which brings it into line with regression analysis and linear regression. The section on Monte Carlo has been removed, as it is wholly inappropriate; it has been replaced by a section on parameter statistics. Petergans (talk) 16:48, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Major revision 

message: Despite being a biochemist, I have a problem with the Michaelis–Menten model being used as an example. The Michaelis–Menten equation is a specific case of rectangular hyperbola and has its own jargon which is quite different from the standard mathematical jargon: this article is about a mathematical topic and not enzyme kinetics. Secondly, the example image given has a perfect fit which is a very poor example of regression. --Squidonius (talk) 00:31, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Michaelis–Menten model is a terrible example 

message: There is a problem with the last equation under the part "Regression Statistics". My web browser cannot convert it to PNG. I tried to fix it myself, but I failed.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gustafullman (talk • contribs) 10:49, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for reporting that. I've fixed it by adding some more braces {} to the LaTeX source for the equation. Appears this was due to  a bug associated with the recent upgrade to the MediaWiki software. Qwfp (talk) 14:07, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Equation parsing error 

message: "... observational data are modeled by a function which [sic.] is a nonlinear combination of the model parameters and depends on one or more independent variables." What this actually means, in plain English, is that the model of the observational data is a function of its own parameters and depends on some variables; i.e. the phrase is meaningless. If we cannot write an introductory sentence that means anything then it would be less confusing if we were to remove it altogether. At the moment, all it is actually saying is: "In statistics, nonlinear regression is a form of regression analysis in which observational data are modeled by a function"; maybe we ought to leave it at that and forget about the ensuing word salad? (by 90.217.127.222)
:You're right that the sentence is very weak. However, your two "plain English" translations have omitted the crucial word from the original: "nonlinear". People often have very strong opinions on article intros. So shall we draft a better sentence here, on the talk page, before changing the article?
:Also, please sign your talk page posts using four tildes: ~~~~. Mgnbar (talk) 16:44, 4 May 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Grammar in opening paragraph