HackerTube / Video
Ptolemy and Homer (Simpson)
Santiago Ginnobili
A short animation reconstructing a planet's looping orbit using Ptolemy's epicycles and deferents, with the epicycles tracing out the face of Homer Simpson. It shows how enough circles can reproduce nearly any shape.
HN uses it as a vivid demonstration that Fourier series and epicycles can fit anything, and as a warning about models with too much wiggle room.
9 Hacker News mentions · 2013–2022