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for values of
(foldoc) | for values of
A common rhetorical maneuver at MIT is to use any
of the canonical random numbers as placeholders for
variables. "The max function takes 42 arguments, for
arbitrary values of 42". "There are 69 ways to leave your
lover, for 69 = 50". This is especially likely when the
speaker has uttered a random number and realises that it was
not recognised as such, but even "non-random" numbers are
occasionally used in this fashion. A related joke is that pi
equals 3 - for small values of pi and large values of 3.
This usage probably derives from the programming language MAD
(Michigan Algorithm Decoder), an ALGOL-like language that
was the most common choice among mainstream (non-hacker) users
at MIT in the mid-1960s. It had a control structure FOR
VALUES OF X = 3, 7, 99 DO ... that would repeat the indicated
instructions for each value in the list (unlike the usual FOR
that generates an arithmetic sequence of values). MAD is
long extinct, but similar for-constructs still flourish
(e.g. in Unix's shell languages).
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-16)
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for values of
(jargon) | for values of
[MIT] A common rhetorical maneuver at MIT is to use any of the canonical {
random numbers} as placeholders for variables. “The max function takes 42
arguments, for arbitrary values of 42.:” “There are 69 ways to leave your
lover, for 69 = 50.” This is especially likely when the speaker has uttered
a random number and realizes that it was not recognized as such, but even
‘non-random’ numbers are occasionally used in this fashion. A related joke
is that π equals 3 — for small values of π and large values of 3.
Historical note: at MIT this usage has traditionally been traced to the
programming language MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder), an Algol-58-like
language that was the most common choice among mainstream (non-hacker)
users at MIT in the mid-60s. It inherited from Algol-58 a control structure
FOR VALUES OF X = 3, 7, 99 DO ... that would repeat the indicated
instructions for each value in the list (unlike the usual FOR that only
works for arithmetic sequences of values). MAD is long extinct, but similar
for-constructs still flourish (e.g., in Unix's shell languages).
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