heuristic

heu•ris•tic (hyoo-RIS-tik)

Definition:
adj
1. involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by experimental and especially trial-and-error methods
2. of or relating to exploratory problem-solving techniques that utilize self-educating techniques to improve performance
3. serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation
n
4. the study or practice of heuristic procedure, argument, or method

heuristically adverb


Origin:
1821; German heuristisch, from New Latin heuristicus, irregular formation from Gk. heuretikos "inventive," related to heuriskein "to find"

Related:
Related Words: eureka

Sentence Examples:
• This does not mean that the method should be heuristic in Rousseau's sense, that the child should be told nothing, but be left to rediscover all knowledge for himself. But it does mean that in the imparting of the garnered experience of the race the child must be trained in the methods by which the race has slowly and gradually built up a knowledge of the means necessary for the realisation of the many and complex ends of civilised life. -The Children: Some Educational Problems, Alexander Darroch

• There is a common heuristic about the amount of food to order, expressed as "Get N - 1 entrees"; the value of N, which is the number of people in the group, can be inferred from context.- The Hackers' Dictionary

• There are no leading strings to interfere with the independence of one's progress. But this self-activity is increased, if the guide—to keep up the simile—lets go the hand of his companion, because the latter, with the goal in sight, is so sure of foot as to need no further assistance. In other words, the developmental method of teaching should be dropped to let the pupil find knowledge by himself; or, in technical terms, the genetic method should be exchanged for the heuristic. -The science of education in its sociological and historical aspects, Otto Willmann, Felix Marie Kirsch


Why This Word:

Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a good enough solution, where an exhaustive search is impractical. Examples of this method include using a "rule of thumb", an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, or common sense. In more precise terms, heuristics are strategies using readily accessible, though loosely applicable, information to control problem solving in human beings and machines.

Sources: Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

zetetic

ze•te•tic (zeh-TEH-tic)  adj

Definition:
proceeding by or arrived at through inquiry


Also, noun: a seeker; -- a name adopted by some of the Pyrrhonists

zeteticly adverb

Origin:
1640s, from Mod.L. zeteticus, from Gk. zetetikos "searching, inquiring," from zetetos, verbal adj. of zetein "seek for, inquire into"


Sentence Examples:
• To do this chief justice, he is probably far less confident about the flatness of the earth than any of his disciples. Under the assumed name of Parallax he visited most of the chief towns of England, propounding what he calls his system of zetetic astronomy. Why he should call himself Parallax it would be hard to say; unless it be that the verb from which the word is derived signifies primarily to shift about or dodge, and secondarily to alter a little, especially for the worse. His employment of the word zetetic is less doubtful, as he claims for his system that it alone is founded on the true seeking out of Nature's secrets. -Myths and Marvels of Astronomy, Richard A. Proctor

• In our courts of Justice we have also an example of the zetetic process. A prisoner is placed at the bar; evidence for and against him is advanced; it is carefully arranged and patiently considered; and only such a verdict given as could not in justice be avoided. -Zetetic astronomy,Samuel Birley Rowbotham

• A zetetic sceptic feels sure or unsure about remote possibilities of error in relation to the knowledge claims he has witnessed. He does not deny that he may often be linguistically, or better, socially, justified in accepting such claims as legitimate. The social and linguistic warrant to use the phrase "I know that . . ." is for him not a sufficient reason actually to use it. -The selected works of Arne Naess

The Storyline
She decided to proceed by the zetetic process. "Can anyone tell me where they are and why they're here?"

Sources: Answers.com, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day