Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
symbol-pushing. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
symbol-pushing, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
symbol-pushing in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
symbol-pushing you have here. The definition of the word
symbol-pushing will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
symbol-pushing, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Derived from symbol pushing.
Adjective
symbol-pushing (not comparable)
- (mathematics, somewhat derogatory) Using symbol pushing; solving mathematical problems by manipulating symbols (as in algebra) rather than through visual or intuitive understanding.
1995, Proof Technology in Mathematics Research and Teaching, Springer International Publishing, →ISBN, page 314:Reasoning by equivalence is essentially a symbol-pushing technique, which reduces algebraic reasoning to a mechanical calculation. There is nothing pejorative in describing this activity as symbol-pushing or as mechanical: in some senses this automation is liberating.
1999, Max Hailperin, Barbara Kaiser, Karl Knight, Concrete Abstractions, Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 203:Perhaps no mechanistic symbol-pushing system could ever produce behavior that matched that of humans—after all, not all kinds of mechanisms can be used to produce all kinds of results.
2018, David J. Eck, The Most Complex Machine, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 427:Personally I think I would have to accept any computer that were to pass the Turing Test as intelligent. Human use of language is so intricate and so laden with meaning that I don't believe this test could ever be passed without real understanding of what is being said. I tend to doubt, however, that any traditional rule-following, symbol-pushing computer will ever pass the test.