1. A method for determining a distance between at least two vectors of n coordinates, the method comprising: identifying a set of heavy coordinates from a set of n coordinates associated with at least two vectors, wherein a heavy coordinate is represented as |x i |≧ε 2 ∥x∥ 1 , where x is a vector, i is a coordinate in the set of n coordinates, and ε is an arbitrary number. identifying a set of light coordinates from the set of n coordinates associated with the at least two vectors, wherein a light coordinate is represented as |x i |<ε 2 ∥x∥ 1 ; determining a first estimation of a contribution from the set of heavy coordinates to a rectilinear distance between the at least two vectors; determining a second estimation of a contribution from the set of light coordinates to the rectilinear distance norm; and combining the first estimation with the second estimation.