AI engineering glossary · Calculus optimisation
What is limit?
Limit: The value that a quantity gets closer and closer to as its input approaches some point, whether or not it actually reaches it there. This idea gives a rigorous meaning to instantaneous change and underpins both slopes and areas under curves.
Limit: an example
As x approaches 2, f(x) = (x^2 - 4) / (x - 2) approaches 4, even though the formula is undefined at x = 2 itself.
Related terms
More Calculus optimisation terms
- Line search
- Linear approximation
- Linear programming
- Lipschitz continuity
- Local minimum
- Loss landscape
- Mini-batch gradient descent
- Momentum
Where you learn it
Limit is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.