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compiled by Peter Samson included several terms that became basics of the hackish vocabulary (see esp. foo, mung, and frob). |
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By 1962, TMRC's legendary layout was already a marvel of complexity (and has grown in the thirty years since; all the features described here are still present). The control system alone featured about 1200 relays. There were scram switches located at numerous places around the room that could be thwacked if something undesirable was about to occur, such as a train going full-bore at an obstruction. Another feature of the system was a digital clock on the dispatch board, which was itself something of a wonder in those bygone days before cheap LEDs and seven-segment displays. When someone hit a scram switch the clock stopped and the display was replaced with the word 'FOO'; at TMRC the scram switches are therefore called foo switches. |
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Steven Levy, in his book Hackers (see the Bibliography in Appendix C), gives a stimulating account of those early years. TMRC's Power and Signals group included most of the early PDP-1 hackers and the people who later became the core of the MIT AI Lab staff. Thirty years later that connection is still very much alive, and this lexicon accordingly includes a number of entries from a recent revision of the TMRC dictionary. |
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TMRCie /tmerk'ee/, n. [MIT] A denizen of TMRC. |
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to a first approximation adj. 1. [techspeak] When one is doing certain numerical computations, an approximate solution may be computed by any of several heuristic methods, then refined to a final value. By using the starting point of a first approximation of the answer, one can write an algorithm that converges more quickly to the correct result. 2. In jargon, a preface to any comment that indicates that the comment is only approximately true. The remark "To a first approximation, I feel good" might indicate that deeper questioning would reveal that not all is perfect (e.g., a nagging cough still remains after an illness). |
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to a zeroth approximation [from 'to a first approximation'] A really sloppy approximation; a wild guess. Compare social science number. |
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toad vt. [MUD] 1. Notionally, to change a MUD player into a toad. 2. To permanently and totally exile a player from the MUD. A very serious action, which can only be done by a MUD wizard; often involves a lot of debate among the other characters first. See also frog, FOD. |
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toast 1. n. Any completely inoperable system or component, esp. one that has just crashed and burned: "Uh, oh I think the serial board is toast." |
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