Abstract
PROF. FREMLIN'S criticism is based primarily on the inability of the equation, Y = exp (−kt−c), to describe adequately natural processes that do not have apparent sigmoidal time-course curves. Of the three hypothetical situations presented, I agree that the first would describe a typical sigmoid curve which can be generated by the basic equation. The time-course of the type of process outlined in the second case would resemble a frequency distribution function, a curve which is generated by the first derivative of the equation1. My colleagues and I have suggested that the equation may represent a new type of distribution function2. The similarities between the parameters of the equation and those of the Weibull distribution function3 have been noted4.
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Weibull, W., J. App. Mech., 18, 293 (1951).
Vary, J. C., and Halvorson, H. O., J. Bact., 89, 1340 (1965).
McCormick, N. G., Nature, 208, 334 (1965).
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MCCORMICK, N. Nature's Time-scale. Nature 211, 1108 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/2111108a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2111108a0
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