Hi everyone. This is the author and I'll be available for the rest of the day if anyone has any points of discussion. In particular, one goal I have for this post is to think about practical issues people have in approximation theory (with an eye towards model-based optimization, though I am interested in broader topics as well). As much as I love theoretical issues in approximation theory, I want to be able to convert those to practical statements for people who want to understand the opportunities/limitations of various approximation situations. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Have a nice day!