ABSTRACT
Default graphs generated by the computer often link points in a kind of follow the dots fashion; while this is a useful feature, default curves of this sort do not generally assign an equation to the curve. Many of the same software packages that offer default curves also permit the user to insert equations and to generate other graphs based on these equations. This chapter offers a practical approach to showing how to fit curves; it is practical because it uses global real-world data and exposes the reader, as an important side benefit, to the problems encountered when using first-rate electronic (or other) data bases. The reader who is content to fit curves without some sort of mathematical discussion behind those efforts, but who understands that different choices of curves can forecast highly diverse alternative futures, should be able to use all the techniques provided.
