Further Aspects of Model Fitting

Abstract

The previous chapter concerned Mayer’s work of model fitting, as we would call it nowadays. Mayer had to deal with errors in his model, in its coefficients, and also in the observations that he employed to fit it. In fact, Mayer’s work abundantly shows his ambition to take control over errors, and to increase accuracy and precision: be it in cartography, the mapping of the moon’s surface, or the lunar orbit, or the consistent description of colours. It is evident in his design of instruments, in the ‘repeating principle’ that he introduced in angle measurements, in the Mappa Critica; it is the unifying theme in his work, as Forbes has already pointed out. ‘The science of practical errors is so far not yet sufficiently developed’,1 wrote Mayer when setting out on an investigation into the limits of the human visual acuity under various light conditions–incidentally, that subject had cought his attention because of its impact on the accuracy of angular measurements.