Gedanken definition

Gedanken





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3 definitions found

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  gedanken /g*-dahn'kn/ adj. Ungrounded; impractical; not
     well-thought-out; untried; untested.
  
     `Gedanken' is a German word for `thought'. A thought experiment is one
     you carry out in your head. In physics, the term `gedanken experiment'
     is used to refer to an experiment that is impractical to carry out, but


     useful to consider because it can be reasoned about theoretically. (A
     classic gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking about
     a man in an elevator accelerating through space.) Gedanken experiments
     are very useful in physics, but must be used with care. It's too easy to
     idealize away some important aspect of the real world in constructing
     the `apparatus'.
  
     Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative connotation. It
     is typically used of a project, especially one in artificial
     intelligence research, that is written up in grand detail (typically as
     a Ph.D. thesis) without ever being implemented to any great extent. Such
     a project is usually perpetrated by people who aren't very good hackers
     or find programming distasteful or are just in a hurry. A `gedanken
     thesis' is usually marked by an obvious lack of intuition about what is
     programmable and what is not, and about what does and does not
     constitute a clear specification of an algorithm. See also
     {AI-complete}, {DWIM}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  Gedanken
       
          John Reynolds, 1970.  "GEDANKEN - A Simple Typeless Language
          Based on the Principle of Completeness and the Reference
          Concept", J.C.  Reynolds, CACM 13(5):308-319 (May 1970).
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
       

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  gedanken
       
          /g*-dahn'kn/ Ungrounded; impractical; not well-thought-out;
          untried; untested.
       
          "Gedanken" is a German word for "thought".  A thought
          experiment is one you carry out in your head.  In physics, the
          term "gedanken experiment" is used to refer to an experiment
          that is impractical to carry out, but useful to consider
          because it can be reasoned about theoretically.  (A classic
          gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking
          about a man in an elevator accelerating through space.)
          Gedanken experiments are very useful in physics, but must be
          used with care.  It's too easy to idealise away some important
          aspect of the real world in constructing the "apparatus".
       
          Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative
          connotation.  It is typically used of a project, especially
          one in artificial intelligence research, that is written up in
          grand detail (typically as a Ph.D.  thesis) without ever being
          implemented to any great extent.  Such a project is usually
          perpetrated by people who aren't very good hackers or find
          programming distasteful or are just in a hurry.  A "gedanken
          thesis" is usually marked by an obvious lack of intuition
          about what is programmable and what is not, and about what
          does and does not constitute a clear specification of an
          algorithm.  See also {AI-complete}, {DWIM}.
       
       

















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