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31 lines
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>coefficient of X</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../C.html" title="C"/><link rel="previous" href="codewalker.html" title="codewalker"/><link rel="next" href="cokebottle.html" title="cokebottle"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">coefficient of X</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="codewalker.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">C</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="cokebottle.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="coefficient-of-X"/><dt xmlns="" id="coefficient-of-X"><b>coefficient of X</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">n.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> Hackish speech makes heavy use of pseudo-mathematical metaphors.
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Four particularly important ones involve the terms <span class="firstterm">coefficient</span>, <span class="firstterm">factor</span>, <span class="firstterm">index of
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X</span>, and <span class="firstterm">quotient</span>. They are
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often loosely applied to things you cannot really be quantitative about,
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but there are subtle distinctions among them that convey information about
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the way the speaker mentally models whatever he or she is describing.
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<span class="firstterm">Foo factor</span> and <span class="firstterm">foo quotient</span> tend to describe something for
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which the issue is one of presence or absence. The canonical example is
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<a href="../F/fudge-factor.html"><i class="glossterm">fudge factor</i></a>. It's not important how much you're
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fudging; the term simply acknowledges that some fudging is needed. You
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might talk of liking a movie for its silliness factor. Quotient tends to
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imply that the property is a ratio of two opposing factors: “<span class="quote">I would
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have won except for my luck quotient.</span>” This could also be “<span class="quote">I
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would have won except for the luck factor</span>”, but using
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<span class="emphasis"><em>quotient</em></span> emphasizes that it was bad luck overpowering
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good luck (or someone else's good luck overpowering your own). <span class="firstterm">Foo index</span> and <span class="firstterm">coefficient of foo</span> both tend to imply that foo
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is, if not strictly measurable, at least something that can be larger or
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smaller. Thus, you might refer to a paper or person as having a <span class="firstterm">high bogosity index</span>, whereas you would be less
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likely to speak of a <span class="firstterm">high bogosity
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factor</span>. <span class="firstterm">Foo index</span>
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suggests that foo is a condensation of many quantities, as in the mundane
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cost-of-living index; <span class="firstterm">coefficient of
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foo</span> suggests that foo is a fundamental quantity, as in a
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coefficient of friction. The choice between these terms is often one of
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personal preference; e.g., some people might feel that bogosity is a
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fundamental attribute and thus say <span class="firstterm">coefficient
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of bogosity</span>, whereas others might feel it is a combination of
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factors and thus say <span class="firstterm">bogosity
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index</span>.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="codewalker.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../C.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="cokebottle.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">codewalker </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> cokebottle</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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