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The logistic function

The logistic function maps the real line (from minus infinity to plus infinity) to the range zero to one in a monotonically increasing manner. It is the same as a scaled and offset hyperbolic tangent hence at minus infinity it is approximately exponential growth but diverges from that rapidly as it approximates exponential decay. The inverse function is the logit.

Logistic versus exponential growth

History

1910 AD Lotka & Volterra Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model
1927 AD Kermack & McKendrick Standard SIR model
1987 AD Anderson & May Anderson-May model for HIV
2024 AD Mason Minimal SIR model