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19-letter words containing a, c, e, n, s, i

  • neats vs. scruffies — (artificial intelligence, jargon)   The label used to refer to one of the continuing holy wars in artificial intelligence research. This conflict tangles together two separate issues. One is the relationship between human reasoning and AI; "neats" tend to try to build systems that "reason" in some way identifiably similar to the way humans report themselves as doing, while "scruffies" profess not to care whether an algorithm resembles human reasoning in the least as long as it works. More importantly, neats tend to believe that logic is king, while scruffies favour looser, more ad-hoc methods driven by empirical knowledge. To a neat, scruffy methods appear promiscuous, successful only by accident and not productive of insights about how intelligence actually works; to a scruffy, neat methods appear to be hung up on formalism and irrelevant to the hard-to-capture "common sense" of living intelligences.
  • necessary condition — prerequisite
  • negative resistance — a characteristic of certain electronic components in which an increase in the applied voltage increases the resistance, producing a proportional decrease in current
  • neuropsychodynamics — The theoretical synthesis of neuroscience and psychodynamics.
  • new zealand spinach — a plant, Tetragonia tetragonioides, of warm regions, cultivated for its edible leaves, eaten as a vegetable.
  • newtonian mechanics — the branch of mechanics that is based on Newton's laws of motion and that is applicable to systems that are so large that Planck's constant can be regarded as negligibly small (distinguished from quantum mechanics).
  • newtonian telescope — a reflecting telescope in which a mirror or reflecting prism is mounted on the axis near the eyepiece so that the image may be viewed from outside the telescope tube at right angles to the axis.
  • nicolaus copernicus — Nicolaus [nik-uh-ley-uh s] /ˌnɪk əˈleɪ əs/ (Show IPA), (Mikolaj Kopernik) 1473–1543, Polish astronomer who promulgated the now accepted theory that the earth and the other planets move around the sun (the Copernican System)
  • no strings attached — without conditions
  • northwest ordinance — the act of Congress in 1787 providing for the government of the Northwest Territory and setting forth the steps by which its subdivisions might become states.
  • nuclear disarmament — the gradual reduction and eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons in the world
  • on cue/as if on cue — If you say that something happened on cue or as if on cue, you mean that it happened just when it was expected to happen, or just at the right time.
  • on no consideration — for no reason whatsoever; never
  • operations director — a director or senior manager who oversees the efficiency of business operations
  • operations research — the analysis, usually involving mathematical treatment, of a process, problem, or operation to determine its purpose and effectiveness and to gain maximum efficiency.
  • orthopaedic surgeon — a surgeon specializing in the branch of surgery concerned with disorders of the spine and joints and the repair of deformities of these parts
  • palisade parenchyma — the upper layer of ground tissue in a leaf, consisting of elongated cells beneath and perpendicular to the upper epidermis and constituting the primary area of photosynthesis.
  • pancreatic fibrosis — cystic fibrosis.
  • parachute spinnaker — a very large spinnaker used on a racing yacht.
  • parallel processing — extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging: parallel rows of trees.
  • particle kinematics — Particle kinematics is the study of the movement of particles, without considering the forces that cause this movement.
  • particle separation — a rule that moves the particle of a phrasal verb, thus deriving a sentence like He looked the answer up from a structure that also underlies He looked up the answer
  • pastoral counseling — the use of psychotherapeutic techniques by trained members of the clergy to assist parishioners who seek help for personal or emotional problems.
  • pedestrian crossing — place to cross road
  • pedestrian precinct — A pedestrian precinct is a street or part of a town where vehicles are not allowed.
  • performance figures — the statistics that indicate how well or badly a company or organization has performed
  • phacoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
  • phakoemulsification — the removal of a cataract by first liquefying the affected lens with ultrasonic vibrations and then extracting it by suction.
  • photoreconnaissance — reconnaissance using aerial photography.
  • physical addressing — (networking)   The low level addressing scheme used on Ethernet. The 48-bit destination Ethernet address in a packet is compared with the receiving node's Ethernet address. Compare IP address.
  • physical impairment — A physical impairment is a condition in which a part of a person's body is damaged or is not working properly.
  • physical sequential — (file format)   (PS, QSAM, Queued Sequential Access Method) The simplest data set on an IBM mainframe. Sequential files can only be read or written from the beginning: they do not support random access.
  • piece de resistance — the principal dish of a meal.
  • piggyback investing — Piggyback investing is a situation in which a broker repeats a trade on his own behalf immediately after trading for an investor, because he thinks the investor may have inside information.
  • pinwheel escapement — a clock escapement in which two pallets, usually of unequal length, alternately engage and release pins set on the escape wheel perpendicular to its plane of rotation.
  • pirates of penzance — an operetta (1879) by Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan.
  • plastic deformation — In plastic deformation a material changes shape when a stress is applied to it and does not go back to its original state when the stress is removed.
  • pneumogastric nerve — the vagus nerve.
  • political scientist — A political scientist is someone who studies, writes, or lectures about political science.
  • political-scientist — a social science dealing with political institutions and with the principles and conduct of government.
  • population genetics — the branch of genetics concerned with the hereditary makeup of populations.
  • post-and-rail fence — a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it
  • postage and packing — the cost of packing and mailing an item bought by post
  • potassium carbonate — a white, granular, water-soluble powder, K 2 CO 3 , used chiefly in the manufacture of soap, glass, and potassium salts.
  • prescription charge — a charge, set by the government, to be paid by a patient for medicines
  • presumption of fact — a presumption based on experience or knowledge of the relationship between a known fact and a fact inferred from it.
  • prick up one's ears — a puncture made by a needle, thorn, or the like.
  • private prosecution — a prosecution started by a private individual rather than by the police
  • professional advice — advice given by someone trained in a particular and relevant profession or job
  • professional school — a postgraduate school or college which trains students for a particular profession
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