On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 2:04 PM, Eugen Leitl <[email protected]> wrote: > Worst Heisenbug Ever.
Rob Pike on the term "Heisenbug" http://commandcenter.blogspot.com/2010/08/know-your-science.html "What's really sad is that many of the commonest misuses of the terminology of quantum mechanics come from other areas of science and technology. For instance, there is a term in computer engineering called a Heisenbug, which refers to faults that are unpredictable, most often for bugs that go away when you examine them. It's a cute name but it isn't even a correct reference. The quantum mechanical property of things changing when you observe them is not the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, it's the observer effect. These two ideas are often confused but they are not the same. They're not even closely related." Now go read the rest of the rant, because it's great. -- Charles
