Two-exponent Lavalette function. A generalization for the case of adherents to a religious movement

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-exponent Lavalette function to better model the distribution of religious adherents over the 20th century, offering a more flexible fit for sigmoid-like data and suggesting a Mandelbrot approach for further refinement.

Contribution

It generalizes the Lavalette function with two exponents and proposes a Mandelbrot-based method for enhanced data fitting in religious adherence studies.

Findings

The two-exponent Lavalette function effectively models sigmoid-like data.

The approach provides improved fit over traditional models.

A Mandelbrot trick is proposed for future complex data analysis.

Abstract

The Lavalette function is generalized to a 2-exponent function in order to represent data looking like a sigmoid on semi-log plots. A Mandelbrot trick is suggested for further investigations, if more fit parameters are needed. The analyzed data is that of the number of adherents to the main religions in the XXth century.