# How does inverse of logistic function produces "linear relationship", (so we can use least-squares)

I am reading about time-series analysis in "A First Course on Time Series Analysis". The book reviews the logistic function ($$f_{log}(t)$$).

Part 1.6 (PDF page 16; book page 8; screenshot below) explains how the inverse of the logistic function ($$1/f_{log}(t)$$) produces a linear relationship; so that "it can serve as a basis for estimating the parameters $$β_1$$, $$β_2$$, $$β_3$$ by an appropriate linear least squares approach"

I don't understand the last sentence:

This means that there is a linear relationship among $$1/f_{log}(t)$$.

I specifically don't understand how the inverse of a logistic function, can produce a "linear relationship"; it doesn't look like a "straight line" when I graph it:

import math
import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt

get_logistic = lambda b1, b2, b3: lambda x: (b3/(1+b2*np.exp(-b1*x)))

x = np.linspace(-10,10)
y = get_logistic(1,1,1)(x)

plt.plot(x,y)
plt.show()
plt.plot(x,1/y)
plt.show()


It's true, the function $$1/f_{log}(t)$$ is not linear, in other words there is not a linear relationship between $$t$$ and $$1/f_{log}(t)$$ but that's not what the author meant; the the important word is "among";

This means that there is a linear relationship among $$1/f_{log}(t)$$.

So there are relationship among the y values; specifically, there is a linear relationship between $$1/f_{log}(t-1)$$ and $$1/f_{log}(t)$$.

So we can change the code to plt.plot(1/y_of_x_minus_1, 1/y), and we will see a straight line:

import math
import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
import pandas as pd

get_logistic = lambda b1, b2, b3: lambda x: (b3/(1+b2*np.exp(-b1*x)))

logistic_args = (1,1,1)
logistic_function = get_logistic(*logistic_args)

x = np.linspace(-10,10)
x_minus_1 = x-1

y = logistic_function(x)
y_of_x_minus_1 = logistic_function(x_minus_1)

plt.plot(1/y_of_x_minus_1, 1/y)
plt.show()
pd.DataFrame({'x': x, 'x_less_1': x_minus_1, 'y_for_x_less_1': 1/y_of_x_minus_1, 'y': 1/y})


Notice the straight line:

EDIT

The linear relationship among $$y$$ values helps us estimate the parameters for the logistic function, using a linear least squares approach:

This (linear relationship) can serve as a basis for estimating the parameters $$β_1, β_2, β_3$$ by an appropriate linear least squares approach, see Exercises 1.2 and 1.3.

Then we have the linear regression model $$z_t = a + bz_{t−1} + ε_t$$ , where $$ε_t$$ is the error variable. Compute the least squares estimates $$\hat{a}$$, $$\hat{b}$$

And the least-squares formula for the general case of $$y=β_0+β_1x+ε$$ goes like this (note: beta's mean something different than the three beta's of logistic function, above) (same formulas shown here and here)

$$\hat{\beta}_1 = \frac{\sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i-\bar{x})(y_i-\bar{y})}{\sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i-\bar{x})^2}$$

$$\hat{\beta}_0 = \bar{y} - \hat{\beta}_1\bar{x}$$

I will try to come back and edit the answer to demonstrate how the linear relationship lets us solve for $$\hat{\beta_0}$$ and $$\hat{\beta_1}$$ (aka $$\hat{a}$$ and $$\hat{b}$$), which lets us figure out the 3 beta's of the logistic function, as suggested in the exercise 1.2:

Compute the least squares estimates $$\hat{a}$$, $$\hat{b}$$ of $$a$$, $$b$$ and motivate the estimates $$\hat{β_1}:= −log(\hat{b})$$, $$\hat{β_3} := (1 − exp(−\hat{β}_1))/\hat{a}$$ as well as $$\hat{β_2} := ...$$

For an exercise I tried to change the itl.nist.gov form ....

$$\sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i-\bar{x})(y_i-\bar{y})$$

...to the wikipedia form...

$$\sum x_i y_i - \frac{1}{n} \sum x_i \sum y_i$$

## Starting like this...

$$\sum (x_i-\bar{x})(y_i-\bar{y})$$

...then, multiply the binomials...

$$\sum (x_iy_i - x_i\bar{y} - y_i\bar{x} + \bar{x}\bar{y})$$

...then, distributing the sum...

$$\sum x_iy_i - \sum x_i\bar{y} - \sum y_i\bar{x} + \sum \bar{x}\bar{y}$$

...and because it sums over all $$n$$ values ($$\sum_{i=1}^{n}$$), the same $$n$$ values used for the means/expected values of $$x$$ and $$y$$ ($$\hat{x}$$, and $$\hat{y}$$) ...

$$\sum x_iy_i - \sum x_i\bar{y} - \sum y_i\bar{x} + n \bar{x}\bar{y}$$

... then, we transform $$n\bar{x}$$ into $$n \frac{\sum{x_i}}{n}$$ then into $$\sum x_i$$ (we could instead transform the $$n\bar{y}$$; would reach the same end result)...

$$\sum x_iy_i - \sum x_i\bar{y} - \sum y_i\bar{x} + \sum x_i\bar{y}$$

... then two terms will cancel....

$$\sum x_iy_i - \sum y_i\bar{x}$$

... then, the wikipedia form (which is almost the covariance, aka the $$\text{Cov}[x,y]$$ (just imagine another $$\frac{1}{n}$$ distributed among the terms)....

$$\sum x_iy_i - \frac{1}{n}\sum y_i\sum x_i$$