"Fixed point" has many meanings in science, most of them mathematical.
- Fixed point (mathematics)
- Fixed-point iteration, a general method to compute the fixed point of an iterated function.
- Fixed-point combinator
- For "Fixed-point join" in databases, see Recursive join
- Fixed-point arithmetic, a manner of doing arithmetic on computers
- Benchmark (surveying), fixed points used by geodesists
- For “fixed points” in physics, see Renormalization group
- Fixed points are necessary for a watercraft to be moored to a quay.
- Archimedes said δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω, which is sometimes translated as “Give me a fixed point and I will move the world.”
Famous quotes containing the words fixed and/or point:
“It is not merely the likeness which is precious ... but the association and the sense of nearness involved in the thing ... the fact of the very shadow of the person lying there fixed forever! It is the very sanctification of portraits I think—and it is not at all monstrous in me to say ... that I would rather have such a memorial of one I dearly loved, than the noblest Artist’s work ever produced.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
“A route differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A route has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A route is the triumphant devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)