Heuristic or heuristics?

Subject: Heuristic or heuristics?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 09:00:41 -0500


Kelly Oja wondered: For the title of a doc I am starting, should be is XXXX Daily Tasks Heuristic or XXXX Daily Tasks Heuristics? Or maybe something else?>>

Unless your audience is part of the 1% of the population who has actually seen the word, and the even smaller proportion of that 1% who knows what it means, you're probably choosing a $100 word to describe a $1 concept. From context, it's not at all clear to me how you're using the term, so I can't suggest a definitive rewording. Perhaps "decision guidelines for daily tasks" or "the logic behind daily tasks"?

The singular form (heuristic) is more commonly used as an adjective (e.g., a heuristic approach), but is a legitimate singular. The problem is that heuristics (pleural) tend to come in packs, hanging out at malls so they can ambush engineers and programmers and beg to be taken home. So the odds are good that you're talking about multiple heuristics rather than a single one.

There is an older usage of heuristic (singular) to refer to the overall problem of making decisions or exploring a question (e.g., "Grammar: the heuristic of choice for editors"), but it strikes me as quaint or at best, overly academic.

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Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
www.geoff-hart.com
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References:
Heuristic or Heuristics: From: Oja, W. Kelly

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