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0 pointsbnoordhuis15y ago0 comments

Sorry, I updated my comment just as you posted yours.

But - and I don't want to sound pedantic - how is m^2 not exponential growth?

Edit: mea culpa guys, I carelessly translated from Dutch. You're all right: quadratic, not exponential growth.

0 comments

Because 2^m and m^2 are very different...

Using terminology like "exponential" and "quadratic" correctly in a discussion of algorithms is not pedantic...

Exponential growth is O(2^m). This is not pedantic -- it's definition. O(m^k) is polynomial, O(k^m) is exponential.

how is m^2 not exponential growth

m^2 is exponential -- in the value 2. But the value 2 doesn't change very rapidly, so we tend to focus on the m component of the expression. :-)

Because 2, the exponent in that expression, is a constant.

Exponential growth would be 2^m.

x^2 is quadratic, 2^x (for example) is exponential.

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