The method of resultant descents for the minimization of an arbitrary function

This paper introduces a method for minimization of algebraic and transcendental equations which is more rapidly convergent on nearly quadratic surfaces than the "steepest descents" methods described by Lance and entails significantly fewer computations than the method of "mixed descents" described by Guier, (although mixed descents may converge more rapidly for some problems). With minor modifications, the method applies equally well to the maximization of a function.