Mu

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  mu \mu\ n. (m[=u])
     The 12th letter of the Greek alphabet ([mu], [MU]).
     [WordNet 1.5]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:



  mu
       n : the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet

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

  mu /moo/ The correct answer to the classic trick question "Have you
     stopped beating your wife yet?". Assuming that you have no wife or you
     have never beaten your wife, the answer "yes" is wrong because it
     implies that you used to beat your wife and then stopped, but "no" is
     worse because it suggests that you have one and are still beating her.
     According to various Discordians and Douglas Hofstadter the correct
     answer is usually "mu", a Japanese word alleged to mean "Your question
     cannot be answered because it depends on incorrect assumptions". Hackers
     tend to be sensitive to logical inadequacies in language, and many have
     adopted this suggestion with enthusiasm. The word `mu' is actually from
     Chinese, meaning `nothing'; it is used in mainstream Japanese in that
     sense. Native speakers do not recognize the Discordian question-denying
     use, which almost certainly derives from overgeneralization of the
     answer in the following well-known Rinzai Zen {koan}:
  
    A monk asked Joshu, "Does a dog have the Buddha nature?"  Joshu
    retorted, "Mu!"
    
     See also {has the X nature}, {Some AI Koans}, and Douglas Hofstadter's
     "Go"del, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" (pointer in the
     {Bibliography} in Appendix C.
  
  

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

  Mu
       
           (Greek letter).
       
          1.  /micro/ prefix denoting division by 10^6, e.g. mu m
          (micrometre, a millionth part of a metre).  Sometimes written
          as a 'u', the ASCII character nearest in appearance.
       
          2.  /myoo/ In the theory of functions, mu x . E
          denotes the least value of x for which E = x, i.e. the {least
          fixed point} of the function \ x . E.  The {recursive}
          function mu f . H f satisfies (and is defined by) the equation
       
          	mu f . H f = H (mu f . H f)
       
          An alternative notation for the same function is
       
          	fix H = H (fix H)
       
          See {fixed point combinator}.
       
          3.  {multiple value}.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1995-10-30)
       
       

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

  mu
       
          1.  The {country code} for Mauritius.
       
          2.  /moo/ The correct answer to the classic trick
          question "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?".  Assuming
          that you have no wife or you have never beaten your wife, the
          answer "yes" is wrong because it implies that you used to beat
          your wife and then stopped, but "no" is worse because it
          suggests that you have one and are still beating her.
          According to various Discordians and Douglas Hofstadter the
          correct answer is usually "mu", a Japanese word alleged to
          mean "Your question cannot be answered because it depends on
          incorrect assumptions".
       
          Hackers tend to be sensitive to logical inadequacies in
          language, and many have adopted this suggestion with
          enthusiasm.  The word "mu" is actually from Chinese, meaning
          "nothing"; it is used in mainstream Japanese in that sense,
          but native speakers do not recognise the Discordian
          question-denying use.  It almost certainly derives from
          overgeneralisation of the answer in the following well-known
          Rinzei Zen teaching riddle:
       
          A monk asked Joshu, "Does a dog have the Buddha nature?"
          Joshu retorted, "Mu!"
       
          See also {has the X nature}, {AI Koan}.
       
          [Douglas Hofstadter, "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden
          Braid"].
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (2000-11-22)