[789body]

This comment threw me for a loop - "L2" and "lasso" triggered the pattern recognition in my head for "regression regularization" and it took a moment to realize the topic was still orbital dynamics.

Come to think of it, saying "Lagrangian" wouldn't have prevented my confusion - not that there's anything wrong with the terminology in OP. I'm reminded of a passage in Cryptonomicon, which I've been rereading:

    "Newton wrote a *different* book, *also* called *Principia Mathematica*, which isn't *really* about mathematics at all; it's about what we would todaycall physics."
    "Then why did he call it Principia Mathematica?"
    "Because the distinction between mathematics and physics wasn't especially clear in Newton's day--"
    "Or maybe even in zis day," Rudy said.

[tome]

Off topic: That quotation is a bit strange because the full title is "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica", or "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", which describes exactly what it is ("Natural Philosphy" basically being "science").

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophi%C3%A6_Naturalis_Pri...

[andybak]

(Can you edit the fixed width formatting? It's impossible to read without horizontal scrolling)

[stcredzero]

This comment threw me for a loop - "L2" and "lasso" triggered the pattern recognition in my head for "regression regularization" and it took a moment to realize the topic was still orbital dynamics.

Yeah. It's not the most apt choice of words.

[789body]

It's a fine choice of words. It's just a coincidence.

[stcredzero]

No one is capturing anything with a rope or cable. It's a rotten choice of words.

[szappetx]

For what it's worth, I'm from Texas where I see actual lassos somewhat regularly, and I perfectly understood the phrasing here. Maybe it's just a regional difference in how the word "lasso" is understood.