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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>uninteresting</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="../U.html" title="U"/><link rel="previous" href="undocumented-feature.html" title="undocumented feature"/><link rel="next" href="Unix.html" title="Unix"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">uninteresting</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="undocumented-feature.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">U</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Unix.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="uninteresting"/><dt xmlns="" id="uninteresting"><b>uninteresting</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">adj.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> 1. Said of a problem that, although
<a href="../N/nontrivial.html"><i class="glossterm">nontrivial</i></a>, can be solved simply by throwing
sufficient resources at it. </p></dd><dd><p> 2. Also said of problems for which a solution would neither advance
the state of the art nor be fun to design and code.</p></dd><dd><p>Hackers regard uninteresting problems as intolerable wastes of time,
to be solved (if at all) by lesser mortals. <span class="emphasis"><em>Real</em></span>
hackers (see <a href="../T/toolsmith.html"><i class="glossterm">toolsmith</i></a>) generalize uninteresting
problems enough to make them interesting and solve them &#8212; thus
solving the original problem as a special case (and, it must be admitted,
occasionally turning a molehill into a mountain, or a mountain into a
tectonic plate). See <a href="../W/WOMBAT.html"><i class="glossterm">WOMBAT</i></a>,
<a href="../S/SMOP.html"><i class="glossterm">SMOP</i></a>; compare <a href="../T/toy-problem.html"><i class="glossterm">toy problem</i></a>,
oppose <a href="../I/interesting.html"><i class="glossterm">interesting</i></a>.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="undocumented-feature.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../U.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Unix.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">undocumented feature </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Unix</td></tr></table></div></body></html>