[SciPy-User] Wording question regarding to distributions

[Gökhan Sever]

On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 4:30 PM, Gökhan Sever <gokhansever at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> What is the right way to express:
>
> Do we fit data to a distribution or distribution to data?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> Gökhan
>

Here is how the question arise in my mind.

Previously, I had asked a question to fit a log-normal distribution on my
data on this thread
http://mail.scipy.org/pipermail/scipy-user/2009-November/023320.html

Well the work is unfinished there, and I started to dig-in to the same
subject again. For R, I have found a function that lets me estimate
parameters from my binned data pair (i.e bin sizes - measurements) to
construct a log-normal fit:

http://www.exposurescience.org/heR.doc/library/heR.Misc/html/bin2lnorm.html

The description given for the function is in conflict with itself:

The title says: "Fit binned data to a log-normal distribution"

However description says different:

"This function takes binned data and fits a lognormal model to it, using
weighted least squares, and optionally plotting the fit and the data
together"

I couldn't find a way to estimate log-normal parameters in Python (maybe I
will need the same for the gamma distributions as well) given in the form as
bin2lnorm (i.e. l- bin limits, and h- corresponding heights (measurements in
my case)) that is the reason I use that R function. Any new alternative
suggestions as welcome this point.

Similarly, while I studying my Cloud and Precipitation Parameterizations
book today (Distributions are extremely important in bulk-parameterization
of clouds and cloud-constituents/products (e.g. aerosols, cloud-droplets,
rain, hail etc...) I see in a couple figures (Please see the book review at
http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521883382&ss=excand
go to pg 9. Figure 1.2) using statements like: "gamma curves fit to
data."

It's clearer now after reading your inputs.

Thanks again.
-- 
Gökhan
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