19-letter words containing f, a, c

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.
nerve growth factor — a protein that promotes the growth, organization, and maintenance of sympathetic and some sensory nerve cells. Abbreviation: NGF.
neufchâtel (cheese) — a soft white cheese prepared from whole milk or skim milk and eaten fresh or cured
non-confidentiality — spoken, written, acted on, etc., in strict privacy or secrecy; secret: a confidential remark.
non-confrontational — tending toward or ready for confrontation: They came to the meeting with a confrontational attitude.
north pacific ocean — the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, extending from the equator to the Arctic Ocean.
not care/give a fig — If you say that someone doesn't care a fig or doesn't give a fig about something, you are emphasizing that they think it is unimportant or that they are not interested in it.
objectfuscated code — (humour, programming) Object-oriented code which has been abstracted to so many levels that no-one can understand it anymore. A play on obfuscated code.
of one's own accord — to be in agreement or harmony; agree.
off-highway vehicle — An off-highway vehicle is a vehicle, such as one used for construction or agriculture, that is intended for use on steep or uneven ground.
office-block ballot — a ballot on which the candidates are listed alphabetically, with or without their party designations, in columns under the office for which they were nominated.
on (or off) camera — so positioned as to be within (or out of) the camera's field of view
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.
open-hearth furnace — a process of steelmaking in which the charge is laid in a furnace (open-hearth furnace) on a shallow hearth and heated directly by burning gas as well as radiatively by the furnace walls.
pancreatic fibrosis — cystic fibrosis.
paschen-back effect — a splitting of spectral lines observed when the source of a radiation is subjected to a strong magnetic field, caused when the vectors associated with the spin and orbital angular momentum exhibit individual rather than common precession.
performance anxiety — the stage fright that a person feels when they are about to perform (a play, piece of music etc) in front of an audience
performance figures — the statistics that indicate how well or badly a company or organization has performed
performance targets — the expected or predicted success level of an individual, company or organization
peroxysulfuric acid — persulfuric acid (def 1).
personal watercraft — a jet-propelled boat ridden like a motorcycle.
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.
photovoltaic effect — the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.
piece of the action — the process or state of acting or of being active: The machine is not in action now.
pilgrimage of grace — a rebellion in 1536 in N England against the Reformation and Henry VIII's government
pillars of hercules — the two promontories at the E end of the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and the Jebel Musa on the African side; according to legend, formed by Hercules
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.
pocket-handkerchief — handkerchief (def 1).
post-and-rail fence — a fence constructed of upright wooden posts with horizontal timber slotted through it
presumption of fact — a presumption based on experience or knowledge of the relationship between a known fact and a fact inferred from it.
pride-of-california — a shrubby plant, Lathyrus splendens, of the legume family, native to southern California, having showy clusters of pale rose-pink, violet, or magenta flowers and large, smooth, beaked pods.
private first class — a soldier ranking above a private and below a corporal or specialist fourth class in the U.S. Army, and above a private and below a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.
process performance — Process performance is a measure of how efficient or effective a process is.
production platform — offshore power station
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
pugwash conferences — international peace conferences of scientists held regularly to discuss world problems: Nobel peace prize 1995 awarded to Joseph Rotblat (1908–2005) , one of the founders of the conferences, secretary-general (1957–73), and president (1988–97)
radioactive fallout — the settling to the ground of airborne particles ejected into the atmosphere from the earth by explosions, eruptions, forest fires, etc., especially such settling from nuclear explosions (radioactive fallout) Compare rainout.
radius of curvature — the absolute value of the reciprocal of the curvature at a point on a curve.
reciprocity failure — a failure of the two exposure variables, light intensity and exposure time, to behave in a reciprocal fashion at very high or very low values
republic of ireland — John, 1838–1918, U.S. Roman Catholic clergyman and social reformer, born in Ireland: archbishop of St. Paul, Minn., 1888–1918.
republic of vietnam — the name (from 1955–75) for South Vietnam, as an independent republic, following the division of the country in 1954 into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
research fellowship — the position or office of someone who conducts academic research into a subject at a university, etc
reticular formation — a network of neurons in the brainstem involved in consciousness, regulation of breathing, the transmission of sensory stimuli to higher brain centers, and the constantly shifting muscular activity that supports the body against gravity.
saccharofarinaceous — pertaining to or consisting of sugar and meal.
sacrifice operative — a euphemistic term for a suicide bomber
san francisco peaks — a mountain mass in N Arizona: highest point in the state, Humphrey's Peak, 12,611 feet (3845 meters).
savings certificate — a certificate of deposit for a specific sum of money in a savings account, especially a deposit for a fixed term at a specified interest rate.

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