Book excerpt: Excerpt from An Essay on the Theory of the Combination of Observations This formula, combined with the equation u=u, gives as many equations as there are quantities o, o', to be determined, and thus we obtain the most plausible values of these quantities consistent with the supposition u=u, . About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.