\begin{definition}[Definition:Asymptotics]
Suppose the task to evaluate a certain number is sufficiently unwieldy that it becomes impractical to calculate it directly.
In such cases it is frequently useful to have a completely different method to calculate an approximation to that number.
Let the accuracy of this approximation improve as the number of operations involved in its calculation increases.
The field of mathematics concerned with studying such techniques is called '''asymptotics'''.
\end{definition}