function polynom = regress(x, y, degree)
	assert(degree == 1 || degree == 2);
	% doesnt work with old octave versions currently
	%pot = @(x) x.^[degree:-1:0];
	%M = reshape(cell2mat(arrayfun(pot, x(:)', 'UniformOutput', false)), degree+1, [])';
	M = [];
	if degree == 1
		M = [ x.^1 x.^0 ];
	end
	if degree == 2
		M = [ x.^2 x.^1 x.^0 ];
	end
	polynom = M \ y(:);
endfunction