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Mathematics

Orthogonal Polynomials and Their Recurrence Relations

Quick fact

Every family of orthogonal polynomials—like Legendre, Chebyshev, or Hermite—can be generated by a simple three-term recurrence relation, which makes them incredibly efficient to compute and use in numerical algorithms.

Why this is interesting

You know that two lines are perpendicular if they meet at a right angle. But what does it mean for two functions to be perpendicular? And why would that be useful?