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According to Wikipedia,

A "blunt" support curve (one with a shallow maximum) would have a low negative expected second derivative

In my mind, a blunt support curve has slow-changing slope, hence small second derivative, hence big negative expected second derivative (instead of small).

Where am I wrong in my thinking?

Heisenberg
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  • Expected second derivative is an average. If you average small things, they are still small. Why do you think they become big? – mpiktas Jan 29 '16 at 07:24
  • It's because of the negative sign, not because of the expectation. – Heisenberg Jan 29 '16 at 07:25
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    Well the second derivative is negative around the maximum, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_test, why do you fixate on its size? – mpiktas Jan 29 '16 at 07:33
  • Ah! That's what I missed. I knew it would be something straightforward like that. If you want to post an answer, I'll accept it. – Heisenberg Jan 29 '16 at 07:40

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