Trial and error definition - Исправление ошибок и поиск оптимальных решений проблем

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Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving^[1] characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success,^[2] or until the practicer stops trying.

According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan (1852–1936) after trying out similar phrases «trial and failure» and «trial and practice».^[3] Under Morgan’s Canon, animal behaviour should be explained in the simplest possible way. Where behavior seems to imply higher mental processes, it might be explained by trial-and-error learning. An example is a skillful way in which his terrier Tony opened the garden gate, easily misunderstood as an insightful act by someone seeing the final behavior. Lloyd Morgan, however, had watched and recorded the series of approximations by which the dog had gradually learned the response, and could demonstrate that no insight was required to explain it.

Edward Lee Thorndike was the initiator of the theory of trial and error learning based on the findings he showed how to manage a trial-and-error experiment in the laboratory. In his famous experiment, a cat was placed in a series of puzzle boxes in order to study the law of effect in learning.^[4] He plotted to learn curves which recorded the timing for each trial. Thorndike’s key observation was that learning was promoted by positive results, which was later refined and extended by B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning.

Trial and error is also a method of problem solving, repair, tuning, or obtaining knowledge. In the field of computer science, the method is called generate and test (Brute force). In elementary algebra, when solving equations, it is guess and check.

This approach can be seen as one of the two basic approaches to problem-solving, contrasted with an approach using insight and theory. However, there are intermediate methods which for example, use theory to guide the method, an approach known as guided empiricism.

This way of thinking has become a mainstay of Karl Popper’s critical rationalism.

Methodology[edit]

The trial and error approach is used most successfully with simple problems and in games, and it is often the last resort when no apparent rule applies. This does not mean that the approach is inherently careless, for an individual can be methodical in manipulating the variables in an attempt to sort through possibilities that could result in success. Nevertheless, this method is often used by people who have little knowledge in the problem area. The trial-and-error approach has been studied from its natural computational point of view ^[5]

Simplest applications[edit]

Ashby (1960, section 11/5) offers three simple strategies for dealing with the same basic exercise-problem, which have very different efficiencies. Suppose a collection of 1000 on/off switches have to be set to a particular combination by random-based testing, where each test is expected to take one second. [This is also discussed in Traill (1978–2006, section C1.2]. The strategies are:

the perfectionist all-or-nothing method, with no attempt at holding partial successes. This would be expected to take more than 10^301 seconds, [i.e., 2^1000 seconds, or 3·5×(10^291) centuries]
a serial-test of switches, holding on to the partial successes (assuming that these are manifest), which would take 500 seconds on average
parallel-but-individual testing of all switches simultaneously, which would take only one second

Note the tacit assumption here that no intelligence or insight is brought to bear on the problem. However, the existence of different available strategies allows us to consider a separate («superior») domain of processing — a «meta-level» above the mechanics of switch handling — where the various available strategies can be randomly chosen. Once again this is «trial and error», but of a different type.

Hierarchies[edit]

Ashby’s book develops this «meta-level» idea, and extends it into a whole recursive sequence of levels, successively above each other in a systematic hierarchy. On this basis, he argues that human intelligence emerges from such organization: relying heavily on trial-and-error (at least initially at each new stage), but emerging with what we would call «intelligence» at the end of it all. Thus presumably the topmost level of the hierarchy (at any stage) will still depend on simple trial-and-error.

Traill (1978–2006) suggests that this Ashby-hierarchy probably coincides with Piaget’s well-known theory of developmental stages. [This work also discusses Ashby’s 1000-switch example; see §C1.2]. After all, it is part of Piagetian doctrine that children learn first by actively doing in a more-or-less random way, and then hopefully learn from the consequences — which all has a certain resemblance to Ashby’s random «trial-and-error».

Application[edit]

Traill (2008, espec. Table «S» on p.31) follows Jerne and Popper in seeing this strategy as probably underlying all knowledge-gathering systems — at least in their initial phase.

Four such systems are identified:

Natural selection which «educates» the DNA of the species,
The brain of the individual (just discussed);
The «brain» of society-as-such (including the publicly held body of science); and
The adaptive immune system.

Features[edit]

Trial and error has a number of features:

solution-oriented: trial and error makes no attempt to discover why a solution works, merely that it is a solution.
problem-specific: trial and error makes no attempt to generalize a solution to other problems.
non-optimal: trial and error is generally an attempt to find a solution, not all solutions, and not the best solution.
needs little knowledge: trials and error can proceed where there is little or no knowledge of the subject.

It is possible to use trial and error to find all solutions or the best solution, when a testably finite number of possible solutions exist. To find all solutions, one simply makes a note and continues, rather than ending the process, when a solution is found, until all solutions have been tried. To find the best solution, one finds all solutions by the method just described and then comparatively evaluates them based upon some predefined set of criteria, the existence of which is a condition for the possibility of finding a best solution. (Also, when only one solution can exist, as in assembling a jigsaw puzzle, then any solution found is the only solution and so is necessarily the best.)

Examples[edit]

Trial and error has traditionally been the main method of finding new drugs, such as antibiotics. Chemists simply try chemicals at random until they find one with the desired effect. In a more sophisticated version, chemists select a narrow range of chemicals it is thought may have some effect using a technique called structure–activity relationship. (The latter case can be alternatively considered as a changing of the problem rather than of the solution strategy: instead of «What chemical will work well as an antibiotic?» the problem in the sophisticated approach is «Which, if any, of the chemicals in this narrow range will work well as an antibiotic?») The method is used widely in many disciplines, such as polymer technology to find new polymer types or families.

Trial and error is also commonly seen in player responses to video games — when faced with an obstacle or boss, players often form a number of strategies to surpass the obstacle or defeat the boss, with each strategy being carried out before the player either succeeds or quits the game.

Sports teams also make use of trial and error to qualify for and/or progress through the playoffs and win the championship, attempting different strategies, plays, lineups and formations in hopes of defeating each and every opponent along the way to victory. This is especially crucial in playoff series in which multiple wins are required to advance, where a team that loses a game will have the opportunity to try new tactics to find a way to win, if they are not eliminated yet.

The scientific method can be regarded as containing an element of trial and error in its formulation and testing of hypotheses. Also compare genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and reinforcement learning – all varieties for search which apply the basic idea of trial and error.

Biological evolution can be considered as a form of trial and error.^[6] Random mutations and sexual genetic variations can be viewed as trials and poor reproductive fitness, or lack of improved fitness, as the error. Thus after a long time ‘knowledge’ of well-adapted genomes accumulates simply by virtue of them being able to reproduce.

Bogosort, a conceptual sorting algorithm (that is extremely inefficient and impractical), can be viewed as a trial and error approach to sorting a list. However, typical simple examples of bogosort do not track which orders of the list have been tried and may try the same order any number of times, which violates one of the basic principles of trial and error. Trial and error is actually more efficient and practical than bogosort; unlike bogosort, it is guaranteed to halt in finite time on a finite list, and might even be a reasonable way to sort extremely short lists under some conditions.

Jumping spiders of the genus Portia use trial and error to find new tactics against unfamiliar prey or in unusual situations, and remember the new tactics.^[7] Tests show that Portia fimbriata and Portia labiata can use trial and error in an artificial environment, where the spider’s objective is to cross a miniature lagoon that is too wide for a simple jump, and must either jump then swim or only swim.^[8]^[9]

References[edit]

^ Campbell, Donald T. (November 1960). «Blind variation and selective retention in creative thoughts as in other knowledge processes». Psychological Review. 67 (6): 380–400. doi:10.1037/h0040373. PMID 13690223.
^ Concise Oxford Dictionary p1489
^ Thorpe W.H. The origins and rise of ethology. Hutchinson, London & Praeger, New York. p26. ISBN 978-0-03-053251-1
^ Thorndike E.L. 1898. Animal intelligence: an experimental study of the association processes in animals. Psychological Monographs #8.
^ X. Bei, N. Chen, S. Zhang, On the Complexity of Trial and Error, STOC 2013
^ Wright, Serwall (1932). «The roles of mutation, inbreeding, crossbreeding and selection in evolution» (PDF). Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Genetics. Volume 1. Number 6: 365. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
^ Harland, D.P. & Jackson, R.R. (2000). ««Eight-legged cats» and how they see — a review of recent research on jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)» (PDF). Cimbebasia. 16: 231–240. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
^ Jackson, Robert R.; Fiona R. Cross; Chris M. Carter (2006). «Geographic Variation in a Spider’s Ability to Solve a Confinement Problem by Trial and Error». International Journal of Comparative Psychology. 19 (3): 282–296. doi:10.46867/IJCP.2006.19.03.06. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
^ Jackson, Robert R.; Chris M. Carter; Michael S. Tarsitano (2001). «Trial-and-error solving of a confinement problem by a jumping spider, Portia fimbriata«. Behaviour. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. 138 (10): 1215–1234. doi:10.1163/15685390152822184. ISSN 0005-7959. JSTOR 4535886.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Having a level of creativity in that spiritual practice — trial and error, development and expansion — is the most important thing in life.

—Evan Nicole Brown, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Dec. 2022

The reality: Fixing your snoring often requires dedicated trial and error, which can take years of work, says Dr. Winter.

—Paul Kita, Men’s Health, 15 Dec. 2022

Over decades, cities and counties have conquered naturally soggy landscapes with trial and error, upgrades and tweaks of a massive system of gutters to storm pipes to canals to rivers.

—Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Oct. 2022

Via trial and error, wear testing, and lots of research, our editors have found those not-so-basic basics, elevated versions of staple items, and the go-to brands for each.

—Madeline Fass, Vogue, 29 July 2022

The concept is simple, but it’s the kind of engineering simplicity that nevertheless requires decades of research and trial and error, and error, and error, and error.

—Stephen Ornes, Discover Magazine, 27 Aug. 2019

For many, debt management is learned through trial and error.

—Ashley Stahl, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2022

Start-ups specifically often seek fully dedicated employees, but there’s a real benefit to hiring experienced consultants who help avoid mistakes and trial and error, given their past experiences solving very similar challenges.

—Bradley Jacobs, Fortune, 2 Dec. 2022

Raptor Canyon might appeal to people who want a powerful gaming desktop without putting in the legwork, research, and trial and error that comes with building a computer inside a tiny case.

—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 30 Nov. 2022

See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘trial and error.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of trial and error was
in 1806

Cite this Entry

“Trial and error.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trial%20and%20error. Accessed 9 Feb. 2023.

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Last Updated:
2 Feb 2023
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Источник

Trial and error, or trial by error, is a general method of problem solving for obtaining knowledge, both propositional knowledge and know-how. In the field of computer science, the method is called generate and test. In elementary algebra, when solving equations, it is «guess and check».

This approach can be seen as one of the two basic approaches to problem solving and is contrasted with an approach using insight and theory.

Process

Bricolage -In trial and error, one selects a possible answer, applies it to the problem and, if it is not successful, selects (or generates) another possibility that is subsequently tried. The process ends when a possibility yields a solution.

In some versions of trial and error, the option that is a priori viewed as the most likely one should be tried first, followed by the next most likely, and so on until a solution is found, or all the options are exhausted. In other versions, options are simply tried at random.

Methodology

This approach is more successful with simple problems and in games, and is often resorted to when no apparent rule applies. This does not mean that the approach need be careless, for an individual can be methodical in manipulating the variables in an attempt to sort through possibilities that may result in success. Nevertheless, this method is often used by people who have little knowledge in the problem area.

Features

Trial and error has a number of features:
* solution-oriented: trial and error makes no attempt to discover «why» a solution works, merely that it «is» a solution.
* problem-specific: trial and error makes no attempt to generalise a solution to other problems.
* non-optimal: trial and error is an attempt to find «a» solution, not «all» solutions, and not the «best» solution.
* needs little knowledge: trials and error can proceed where there is little or no knowledge of the subject.

Examples

Trial and error has traditionally been the main method of finding new drugs, such as antibiotics. Chemists simply try chemicals at random until they find one with the desired effect.

The scientific method can be regarded as containing an element of trial and error in its formulation and testing of hypotheses. Also compare genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and reinforcement learning — all varieties for search which apply the basic idea of trial and error.

Biological evolution is also a form of trial and error. Random mutations and sexual genetic variations can be viewed as trials and poor reproductive fitness as the error. Thus after a long time ‘knowledge’ of well-adapted genomes accumulates simply by virtue of them being «able» to reproduce.

Bogosort can be viewed as a trial and error approach to sorting a list.

In mathematics, the method of trial and error can be used to solve formulae — it is a slower, less precise method than algebra, but is easier to understand.

ee also

* Brute force attack
* Brute-force search
* Empiricism

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.

Источник

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

trial and error

A method of reaching a correct solution or satisfactory result by trying out various means or theories until error is sufficiently reduced or eliminated.

tri′al-and-er′ror adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

trial and error

a method of discovery, solving problems, etc, based on practical experiment and experience rather than on theory: he learned to cook by trial and error.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tri′al and er′ror

experimentation or investigation in which various means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution or achieve the desired result.

[1800–10]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

trial and error — experimenting until a solution is found

Translations

التَجْرِبَه والخَطَأ

zkoušení

fokozatos megközelítés

skúšanie

sınama yanılma

trial

(ˈtraiəl) noun

1. an act of testing or trying; a test. Give the new car a trial; The disaster was a trial of his courage.

2. a legal process by which a person is judged in a court of law. Their trial will be held next week.

3. a (source of) trouble or anxiety. My son is a great trial (to me).

trial run

a rehearsal, first test etc of anything, eg a play, car, piece of machinery etc.

on trial

1. the subject of a legal action in court. She’s on trial for murder.

2. undergoing tests or examination. We’ve had a new television installed, but it’s only on trial.

trial and error

the trying of various methods, alternatives etc until the right one happens to appear or be found. They didn’t know how to put in a central-heating system, but they managed it by trial and error.

Источник

Princeton’s WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

trial and erroradjective

experimenting until a solution is found
trial-and-erroradjective

trying out various means or theories until error is satisfactorily reduced or eliminated

«he argued that all learning is a trial-and-error process that resembles biological evolution»
trial-and-erroradjective

relating to solving problems by experience rather than theory

«they adopted a trial-and-error procedure»

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

trial and errornoun

The process of finding a solution to a problem by trying many possible solutions and learning from mistakes until a way is found.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Trial and error

Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem solving. It is characterised by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying.
According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan (1852–1936) after trying out similar phrases «trial and failure» and «trial and practice». Under Morgan’s Canon, animal behaviour should be explained in the simplest possible way. Where behaviour seems to imply higher mental processes, it might be explained by trial-and-error learning. An example is the skillful way in which his terrier Tony opened the garden gate, easily misunderstood as an insightful act by someone seeing the final behaviour. Lloyd Morgan, however, had watched and recorded the series of approximations by which the dog had gradually learned the response, and could demonstrate that no insight was required to explain it.
Edward Lee Thorndike was the initiator of the theory of trial and error learning based on the findings he showed how to manage a trial-and-error experiment in the laboratory. In his famous experiment, a cat was placed in a series of puzzle boxes in order to study the law of effect in learning. He plotted learning curves which recorded the timing for each trial. Thorndike’s key observation was that learning was promoted by positive results, which was later refined and extended by B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning.
Trial and error is also a heuristic method of problem solving, repair, tuning, or obtaining knowledge. In the field of computer science, the method is called generate and test (Brute force). In elementary algebra, when solving equations, it is guess and check.
This approach can be seen as one of the two basic approaches to problem solving, contrasted with an approach using insight and theory. However, there are intermediate methods which for example, use theory to guide the method, an approach known as guided empiricism.
This way of thinking has become a mainstay of Karl Popper’s falsificationist methodology in philosophy of science.

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Trial and error

Trial and error is a fundamental method of solving problems. It is characterised by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the agent stops trying. It is an unsystematic method which does not employ insight, theory or organised methodology.
According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan after trying out similar phrases «trial and failure» and «trial and practice». Under Morgan’s canon, animal behaviour should be explained in the simplest possible way. Where behaviour seems to imply higher mental processes, it might be explained by trial and error learning. An example is the skilful way in which his terrier Tony opened the garden gate, easily misunderstood as an insightful act by someone seeing the final behaviour. Lloyd Morgan, however, had watched and recorded the series of approximations by which the dog had gradually learned the response, and could demonstrate that no insight was required to explain it.
Edward Thorndike showed how to manage a trial and error experiment in the laboratory. In his famous experiment, a cat was placed in a series of puzzle boxes in order to study the law of effect in learning. He plotted learning curves which recorded the timing for each trial. Thorndike’s key observation was that learning was promoted by positive results, which was later refined and extended by B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning.

How to pronounce trial and error?

How to say trial and error in sign language?

Numerology

Chaldean Numerology

The numerical value of trial and error in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology

The numerical value of trial and error in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of trial and error in a Sentence

Kazuo Momma:

Markets are testing the BOJ’s resolve to defend the floor for yields, but I don’t think the BOJ has a clear idea on how to deal with this problem, from here on, it’s probably trial and error for them.
Jessica Cox:

I had numerous flight instructors and contributors to my training to figure this out, so, it was a three-year process to figure out through trial and error what would work.
Woody Haldrugold:

If you apply the «Trial and Error» method to most of your work, the gorillas can do it better. The human mind must be more than that.
Mayer Kamkhatchi:

It was a lot of trial and error and learning stuff from YouTube.
Jeb Bush:

I’ve learned about leadership through trial and error. I’ve got tire marks on my forehead to prove it, you learn these things if you’re all in. You learn these things by experience. You don’t talk about things on the sidelines. We need leadership in Washington, D.C., high-energy leadership.

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Are we missing a good definition for trial and error? Don’t keep it to yourself…

Источник

What is the Trial and Error Learning?

Trial and error learning is learning from multiple attempts. Here to seek out an answer multiple attempts are made after the primary attempt if an answer isn’t found, another attempt is being made, and still not found solution another attempt is additionally being made, then on until unless an answer is found.

In other words, consistent with the trial and error method learning is that the stamping of correct responses and stamping out incorrect responses.

Edward Lee Thorndike, an American psychologist, is that the first promoter of Trial and Error learning. it’s also called Thorndike’s trial and error theory of learning. he’s known for his works on animal psychology and academic psychology. He studied learning this theory employing a cat through the “puzzle box.”

This theory falls under the category of behavioristic theories and follows the stimulus-response theory. Thorndike says “Learning is connecting, the mind is man’s connection system”. Learning is caused by the formation of a connection between stimuli and response.

This theory of learning usually takes place in trial and error. As its name suggests, to seek out an answer we usually need to undergo trials and errors. to urge to the answer we made the amount random of trials because the number of trials increases errors are decreased. the most idea of trial and error learning is “several trials end in decreased errors.”

Experiment on A Cat

Thorndike’s experiments on a cat. He put a hungry cat in a puzzle box with just one door for the exit that would be opened only by correctly manipulating a latch (lock/key) and a fish was placed outside of the box. The smell of fish acted as a robust motive for the hungry cat to return out of the box.

Initially, the cat randomly moved inside the box, he consequently made every possible effort to return out of the box. He made several random movements like squeezing, biting the walls, clawing, and dashing, etc. however nothings work at all. But in one among the random movements, by chance, the latch was manipulated. The cat came out and got rewarded for the fish.

within the next trial, again an equivalent hungry cat was put within the same puzzle box, and out of doors a fish. The fish and its smell again worked as a motive for getting out of the box for the cat. He made again random movements. But at this point, he took less time in the beginning. On subsequent trials like incorrect responses, biting, clawing, and dashing were gradually diminished and therefore the cat took less time on every succeeding trial. within the course of the experiment, the cat was during a position to press or manipulate the latch as soon as he was put within the box.

This way, gradually, the cat learned the art of opening the door.

The cat learned to open the door and it had been possible only after the number of random trials and errors the Thorndike’s concluded.

Supporting the trial and error theory of learning Thorndike gave three fundamental laws of learning. The laws are as follows:

Laws of Readiness

As its name suggests to find out something a learner must be able to learn. If he’s not able to learn the teaching efforts made by others would be worthless. Suppose if you’re able to find out how to play football well you would possibly learn more quickly with greater satisfaction rather than forced by others. So in learning self-interest is vital.

Law of Exercise

Another law is that the law of exercise. This law of Thorndike’s states that learning becomes efficient after practicing or exercising regularly and becomes weak after the trial or practicing is discontinued. Just take an example of football if you often practice your connection would be strengthened and if you stop practicing for an extended time the connection would be weakened.

It has also two parts:

Law of use: This law suggests that the connection between stimulus and response would be strong after its occurrence, use or practice.
Law of disuse: This law suggests that the connection between stimulus and response would be decreased without practicing or use.

Law of Effect

This law states that if the result after trial and error is satisfying the strength of learning is increased. If the result’s annoying the strength is reduced. Simply understand, once you get what you expected to urge from learning your motivation of learning is going to be increased, and once you didn’t get the expected results your motivation would be decreased. So this law is that the effect of results after trials and errors.

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When I made Blue Moon Swamp, there was a lot of trial and error; I was trying to find people who would be simpatico with my style, and with what I had in mind for the album.

John Fogerty

PRONUNCIATION OF TRIAL AND ERROR

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TRIAL AND ERROR

Trial and error is a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES TRIAL AND ERROR MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Trial and error

Trial and error is a fundamental method of solving problems. It is characterised by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the agent stops trying. It is an unsystematic method which does not employ insight, theory or organised methodology. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan after trying out similar phrases «trial and failure» and «trial and practice». Under Morgan’s canon, animal behaviour should be explained in the simplest possible way. Where behaviour seems to imply higher mental processes, it might be explained by trial and error learning. An example is the skillful way in which his terrier Tony opened the garden gate, easily misunderstood as an insightful act by someone seeing the final behaviour. Lloyd Morgan, however, had watched and recorded the series of approximations by which the dog had gradually learned the response, and could demonstrate that no insight was required to explain it. Edward Thorndike showed how to manage a trial and error experiment in the laboratory. In his famous experiment, a cat was placed in a series of puzzle boxes in order to study the law of effect in learning.

Definition of trial and error in the English dictionary

The definition of trial and error in the dictionary is a method of discovery, solving problems, etc, based on practical experiment and experience rather than on theory.

Synonyms and antonyms of trial and error in the English dictionary of synonyms

Translation of «trial and error» into 25 languages

TRANSLATION OF TRIAL AND ERROR

Find out the translation of trial and error to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of trial and error from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «trial and error» in English.

Translator English — Chinese

试验和错误

1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English — Spanish

ensayo y error

570 millions of speakers

Translator English — Hindi

परीक्षण और त्रुटि

380 millions of speakers

Translator English — Arabic

التجربة والخطأ

280 millions of speakers

Translator English — Russian

проб и ошибок

278 millions of speakers

Translator English — Portuguese

tentativa e erro

270 millions of speakers

Translator English — Bengali

বিচার এবং ত্রুটি

260 millions of speakers

Translator English — French

essais et erreurs

220 millions of speakers

Translator English — Malay

percubaan dan kesilapan

190 millions of speakers

Translator English — German

Versuch und Irrtum

180 millions of speakers

Translator English — Japanese

試行錯誤

130 millions of speakers

Translator English — Korean

시행 착오

85 millions of speakers

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Nyoba lan kesalahan

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thử và sai

80 millions of speakers

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முயற்சி மற்றும் பிழை

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परीक्षण अणि तृटी

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Deneme ve hata

70 millions of speakers

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prova ed errore

65 millions of speakers

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prób i błędów

50 millions of speakers

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проб і помилок

40 millions of speakers

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încercare și eroare

30 millions of speakers

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δοκιμής και λάθους

15 millions of speakers

Translator English — Afrikaans

verhoor en fout

14 millions of speakers

Translator English — Swedish

trial and error

10 millions of speakers

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prøving og feiling

5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of trial and error

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TRIAL AND ERROR»

The term «trial and error» is quite widely used and occupies the 32.389 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

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Quite widely used

The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «trial and error» in the different countries.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of trial and error

List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «trial and error».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TRIAL AND ERROR» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «trial and error» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «trial and error» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about trial and error

10 QUOTES WITH «TRIAL AND ERROR»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word trial and error.

I’m trying figuring out how to be the best person I can be. But it’s been a process of trial and error.

Storytelling is a very old human skill that gives us an evolutionary advantage. If you can tell young people how you kill an emu, acted out in song or dance, or that Uncle George was eaten by a croc over there, don’t go there to swim, then those young people don’t have to find out by trial and error.

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change — this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.

Potatoes are popped, with no oil, using the same technology used in the rice cake manufacturing business. It took a lot of trial and error and lots of practice, though, to get the right flavor.

Art and science have so much in common — the process of trial and error, finding something new and innovative, and to experiment and succeed in a breakthrough.

You don’t learn from a situation where you do something well. You enjoy it and you give yourself credit, but you don’t really learn from that. You learn from trial and error, trial and error, all the time.

When I made Blue Moon Swamp, there was a lot of trial and error; I was trying to find people who would be simpatico with my style, and with what I had in mind for the album.

When I go into the garden, I forget everything. It’s uncomplicated in my world of gardening. It’s trial and error, really. If something doesn’t work, it comes out, and you start all over again.

In order to figure this artmaking stuff out, it’s trial and error and experimentation, and takes some time and hard thinking. Putting work out in many forms and stages is an extension of how I see things. I feel the art process is best served when it invites comments and constructive criticism from people.

If I want my daughter to try something, I eat it in front of her repeatedly without forcing the issue and, with some trial and error, the world is our oyster!

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TRIAL AND ERROR»

Discover the use of trial and error in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to trial and error and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Uncontrolled: The Surprising Payoff of Trial—And—Error for …

Entrepreneur and political commentator Jim Manzi argues for a radical new approach to our most pressing economic and social problems, using the scientific method—and its controlled experiments and skeptical mindset—to test what works in …

Non-descript, upstanding Mr Todhunter is told that he has only months to live.

Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and …

Now available in a newly revised and updated edition, Larson’s highly-acclaimed study of the debate over teaching evolution in the public schools ranges from the Scopes trial of 1925 to the creationism disputes of the 1980s.

Trial and Error: Israel’s Route from War to De-Escalation

Questions the commonly accepted view that Israel’s military policies were formed in direct response to Arab states’ hostility and argues for a historical linkage between Israel’s changing military posture and the development of an …

Trial and Error in Criminal Justice Reform

The book examines well-intended programs that for one reason or another fell short of their objectives (D.A.R.E. and Operation Ceasefire being prime examples) yet also had positive effects.

Greg. Berman, Aubrey Fox, 2010

Trial and Error: The Education of a Courtroom Lawyer

Here is John C. Tucker, a man who twice argued before the Supreme Court and won, challenged the nefarious and discriminatory practice of ?contract lendingOCO and lost, participated in such monumental cases as the Chicago Eight trial …

Trial and Error : The American Controversy Over Creation and …

This updated classic work presents a balanced historical interpretation of legal and educational debates over evolutionism, and will appeal to those interested in the fields of history, religion, science, and law.

Edward J. Larson Richard B. Russell Professor of History and Talmadge Professor of Law University of Georgia, 2002

Trial and error: the advent and eclipse of Benazir Bhutto

On the life and political career of Benazir Bhutto, ex-prime minister of Pakistan.

Reforming the World Bank: Twenty Years of Trial — and Error

This 2009 book explains why the World Bank has not achieved substantive efficiency or effectiveness in delivering economic assistance.

Trial and error: an Oxford anthology of legal stories

Short stories and excerpts from novels deal with legal themes, including legal institutions, rules, and participants

Fred R. Shapiro, Jane Garry, 1998

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TRIAL AND ERROR»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term trial and error is used in the context of the following news items.

TEMECULA: Gerald Albright finds inspiration in nature, trial and error

“Music is trial and error,” he said. “You try to sound different and some things work and others don’t. For example, Cannonball Adderley could play any riff … «Press-Enterprise, Jul 15»

Earnhardt Jr. on safety: ‘It was trial and error for a long time’

«You’d love to have had it to start off in 1950 with the safest thing you have,» he said, «but I think it was trial and error for a long time.» For Earnhardt Jr. and the … «The Detroit News, Jul 15»

Trial and error: Thousands left seriously ill or disabled by clinical …

Shocking figures reveal for the first time the extent of serious and unexpected adverse reactions suffered by members of the public who take part in clinical trials. «Mirror.co.uk, Jun 15»

Building A More Effective Hiring Model Through Trial And Error

Bootstrapping a startup is challenging, so when a company with very little capital starts to gain some traction and market recognition, it’s a relief for the founder to … «Forbes, Jun 15»

Robot learns skills through trial and error, like you do

The machine uses neural network-based deep learning algorithms to master tasks through trial and error, much like humans do. Ask it to assemble a toy and it’ll … «Engadget, May 15»

New ‘deep learning’ technique enables robot mastery of skills via …

UC Berkeley researchers have developed algorithms that enable robots to learn motor tasks through trial and error using a process that more closely … «UC Berkeley, May 15»

Trial and error

After the controversial speedy bail to Salman Khan by the Mumbai High Court, the Karnataka High Court has set aside the trial court’s verdict sentencing J. «Chandigarh Tribune, May 15»

Trial and Error Is No Way to Make Strategy

For decades now, both consultants and academics have been arguing that the world has become so fast paced, so hypercompetitive, so complex, so ambiguous … «blogs.hbr.org, Apr 15»

Trial and error and dedication: Nora rebounds from an F

Put them in the shaky fingers of a 5-year-old who can’t speak English. Could simply rolling clay or stacking shapes for a few minutes soothe the surrounding … «Indianapolis Star, Apr 15»

Jakrapong Kongmalai: Find a Mentor and Avoid Years of Trial and …

In reality, I spend too many years doing trial and error by myself in the office (and learn everything by myself) which is totally wrong. What has been the most … «Huffington Post, Jan 15»

REFERENCE

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Trial and error, or trial by error or try an error, is a general method of problem solving, fixing things, or for obtaining knowledge.
«Learning doesn’t happen from failure itself but rather from analyzing the failure, making a change, and then trying again.»^[1]

In the field of computer science, the method is called generate and test. In elementary algebra, when solving equations, it is «guess and check».

This approach can be seen as one of the two basic approaches to problem solving and is contrasted with an approach using insight and theory.

Process

Bricolage —
In trial and error, one selects a possible answer, applies it to the problem and, if it is not successful, selects (or generates) another possibility that is subsequently tried. The process ends when a possibility yields a solution.

Methodology

Simplest applications

Ashby (1960, section 11/5) offers three simple strategies for dealing with the same basic exercise-problem; and they have very different efficiencies:
Suppose there are 1000 on/off switches which have to be set to a particular combination by random-based testing, each test to take one second. [This is also discussed in Traill (1978/2006, section C1.2]. The strategies are:

the perfectionist all-or-nothing method, with no attempt at holding partial successes. This would be expected to take more than 10^301 seconds, [i.e. 2^1000 seconds, or 3·5×(10^291) centuries!];
a serial-test of switches, holding on to the partial successes (assuming that these are manifest) would take 500 seconds; while
a parallel-but-individual testing of all switches simultaneously would take only one second.

Trial-and-error Hierarchies

Ashby’s book develops this «meta-level» idea, and extends it into a whole recursive sequence of levels, successively above each other in a systematic hierarchy. On this basis he argues that human intelligence emerges from such organization: relying heavily on trial-and-error (at least initially at each new stage), but emerging with what we would call «intelligence» at the end of it all. Thus presumably the topmost level of the hierarchy (at any stage) will still depend on simple trial-and-error.

Traill (1978/2006) suggests that this Ashby-hierarchy probably coincides with Piaget’s well-known theory of developmental stages. [This work also discusses Ashby’s 1000-switch example; see §C1.2]. After all, it is part of Piagetian doctrine that children learn by first actively doing in a more-or-less random way, and then hopefully learn from the consequences — which all has a certain resemblance to Ashby’s random «trial-and-error».

The basic strategy in many fields?

Traill (2008, espec. Table «S» on p.31) follows Jerne and Popper in seeing this strategy as probably underlying all knowledge-gathering systems — at least in their initial phase.

Four such systems are identified:

Darwinian evolution which «educates» the DNA of the species!
The brain of the individual (just discussed);
The «brain» of society-as-such (including the publicly-held body of science); and
The immune system.

An ambiguity: Can we have «intention» during a «trial»

In the Ashby-and-Cybernetics tradition, the word «trial» usually implies random-or-arbitrary, without any deliberate choice.
However amongst non-cyberneticians, «trial» will often imply a deliberate subjective act by some adult human agent; (e.g. in a court-room, or laboratory). So that has sometimes led to confusion.

Of course the situation becomes even more confusing if one accepts Ashby’s hierarchical explanation of intelligence, and its implied ability to be deliberate and to creatively design — all based ultimately on non-deliberate actions! The lesson here seems to be that one must simply be careful to clarify the meaning of one’s own words, and indeed the words of others. [Incidentally it seems that consciousness is not an essential ingredient for intelligence as discussed above.]

Features

Trial and error has a number of features:

solution-oriented: trial and error makes no attempt to discover why a solution works, merely that it is a solution.
problem-specific: trial and error makes no attempt to generalise a solution to other problems.
non-optimal: trial and error is generally an attempt to find a solution, not all solutions, and not the best solution.
needs little knowledge: trials and error can proceed where there is little or no knowledge of the subject.

Examples

Trial and error has traditionally been the main method of finding new drugs, such as antibiotics. Chemists simply try chemicals at random until they find one with the desired effect. In a more sophisticated version, chemists select a narrow range of chemicals it is thought may have some effect. (The latter case can be alternatively considered as a changing of the problem rather than of the solution strategy: instead of «What chemical will work well as an antibiotic?» the problem in the sophisticated approach is «Which, if any, of the chemicals in this narrow range will work well as an antibiotic?») The method is used widely in many disciplines, such as polymer technology to find new polymer types or families.

The scientific method can be regarded as containing an element of trial and error in its formulation and testing of hypotheses. Also compare genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and reinforcement learning — all varieties for search which apply the basic idea of trial and error.

Biological evolution is also a form of trial and error. Random mutations and sexual genetic variations can be viewed as trials and poor reproductive fitness, or lack of improved fitness, as the error. Thus after a long time ‘knowledge’ of well-adapted genomes accumulates simply by virtue of them being able to reproduce.

Issues with trial and error

Trial and error is usually a last resort for a particular problem, as there are a number of problems with it. For one, trial and error is tedious and monotonous. Also, it is very time-consuming; chemical engineers must sift through millions of various potential chemicals before they find one that works. Fortunately, computers are best suited for trial and error; they do not succumb to the boredom that humans do, and can potentially do thousands of trial-and-error segments in the blink of an eye.

References

Ashby, W. R. (1960: Second Edition). Design for a Brain. Chapman & Hall: London.
Traill, R.R. (1978/2006). Molecular explanation for intelligence…, Brunel University Thesis, HDL.handle.net
Traill, R.R. (2008). Thinking by Molecule, Synapse, or both? — From Piaget’s Schema, to the Selecting/Editing of ncRNA. Ondwelle: Melbourne. Ondwelle.com — or French version Ondwelle.com.

References

↑ Coding Horror: Fail Early, Fail Often

Learning
Types of learning
Avoidance conditioning \| Classical conditioning \| Confidence-based learning \| Discrimination learning \| Emulation \| Experiential learning \| Escape conditioning \| Incidental learning \|Intentional learning \| Latent learning \| Maze learning \| Mastery learning \| Mnemonic learning \| Nonassociative learning \| Nonreversal shift learning \| Nonsense syllable learning \| Nonverbal learning \| Observational learning \| Omission training \| Operant conditioning \| Paired associate learning \| Perceptual motor learning \| Place conditioning \| Probability learning \| Rote learning \| Reversal shift learning \| Second-order conditioning \| Sequential learning \| Serial anticipation learning \| Serial learning \| Skill learning \| Sidman avoidance conditioning \| Social learning \| Spatial learning \| State dependent learning \| Social learning theory \| State-dependent learning \| Trial and error learning \| Verbal learning
Concepts in learning theory
Chaining \| Cognitive hypothesis testing \| Conditioning \| Conditioned responses \| Conditioned stimulus \| Conditioned suppression \| Constant time delay \| Counterconditioning \| Covert conditioning \| Counterconditioning \| Delayed alternation \| Delay reduction hypothesis \| Discriminative response \| Distributed practice \|Extinction \| Fast mapping \| Gagné’s hierarchy \| Generalization (learning) \| Generation effect (learning) \| Habits \| Habituation \| Imitation (learning) \| Implicit repetition \| Interference (learning) \| Interstimulus interval \| Intermittent reinforcement \| Latent inhibition \| Learning schedules \| Learning rate \| Learning strategies \| Massed practice \| Modelling \| Negative transfer \| Overlearning \| Practice \| Premack principle \| Preconditioning \| Primacy effect \| Primary reinforcement \| Principles of learning \| Prompting \| Punishment \| Recall (learning) \| Recency effect \| Recognition (learning) \| Reconstruction (learning) \| Reinforcement \| Relearning \| Rescorla-Wagner model \| Response \| Reinforcement \| Secondary reinforcement \| Sensitization \| Serial position effect \| Serial recall \| Shaping \| Stimulus \| Reinforcement schedule \| Spontaneous recovery \| State dependent learning \| Stimulus control \| Stimulus generalization \| Transfer of learning \| Unconditioned responses \| Unconditioned stimulus
Animal learning
Cat learning \| Dog learning Rat learning
Neuroanatomy of learning

Neurochemistry of learning
Adenylyl cyclase
Learning in clinical settings
Applied Behavior Analysis \| Behaviour therapy \| Behaviour modification \| Delay of gratification \| CBT \| Desensitization \| Exposure Therapy \| Exposure and response prevention \| Flooding \| Graded practice \| Habituation \| Learning disabilities \| Reciprocal inhibition therapy \| Systematic desensitization \| Task analysis \| Time out
Learning in education
Adult learning \| Cooperative learning \| Constructionist learning \| Experiential learning \| Foreign language learning \| Individualised instruction \| Learning ability \| Learning disabilities \| Learning disorders \| Learning Management \| Learning styles \| Learning theory (education) \| Learning through play \| School learning \| Study habits
Machine learning
Temporal difference learning \| Q-learning
Philosophical context of learning theory
Behaviourism \| Connectionism \| Constructivism \| Functionalism \| Logical positivism \| Radical behaviourism
Prominant workers in Learning Theory\|-
Pavlov \| Hull \| Tolman \| Skinner \| Bandura \| Thorndike \| Skinner \| Watson
Miscellaneous\|-
Category:Learning journals \| Melioration theory
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Trial and error

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Trends of use of trial and error

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TRIAL AND ERROR»

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TRIAL AND ERROR» OVER TIME

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about trial and error

10 QUOTES WITH «TRIAL AND ERROR»

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TRIAL AND ERROR»

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TRIAL AND ERROR»

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