code: def points_are_in_a_straight_line( points, tolerance=1e-7 ):
      
      a = points[0]
      b = points[1]
      for c in points[2:]:
          if area_of_a_triangle_in_cartesian_space( a, b, c ) > tolerance:
              return False
      return True
docs: Check whether a set of points fall on a straight line.
      Calculates the areas of triangles formed by triplets of the points.
      Returns False is any of these areas are larger than the tolerance.
  
      Args:
          points (list(np.array)): list of Cartesian coordinates for each point.
          tolerance (optional:float): the maximum triangle size for these points to be considered colinear. Default is 1e-7.
  
      Returns:
          (bool): True if all points fall on a straight line (within the allowed tolerance).