Trial and error meaning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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]

See also[edit]

  • Ariadne’s thread (logic)
  • Brute-force attack
  • Brute-force search
  • Dictionary attack
  • Empiricism
  • Genetic algorithm
  • Learning curve
  • Margin of error
  • Regula falsi
  • Voodoo programming

References[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Concise Oxford Dictionary p1489
  3. ^ Thorpe W.H. The origins and rise of ethology. Hutchinson, London & Praeger, New York. p26. ISBN 978-0-03-053251-1
  4. ^ Thorndike E.L. 1898. Animal intelligence: an experimental study of the association processes in animals. Psychological Monographs #8.
  5. ^ X. Bei, N. Chen, S. Zhang, On the Complexity of Trial and Error, STOC 2013
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.

Further reading[edit]

  • 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.
  • Zippelius, R. (1991). Die experimentierende Methode im Recht (Trial and error in Jurisprudence), Academy of Science, Mainz, ISBN 3-515-05901-6


Trial and error should be encouraged as a way of promoting pluralism in the utilization and valuing of biodiversity.


The designer is able to solve the problem without using agents but not without extensive and tedious «trial and error» runs.


What he meant was that democracy involved a process of educating both government and people, a process of trial and error.


That is the essential element, learned largely by trial and error.


This empirical ‘trial and error‘ method is extended to the aerodynamic aspects as well.


The number of neurons in the hidden layer can be varied and it is only possible to find the correct number through trial and error.


The ability to make a program work by means of trial and error is less useful to students than it used to be.


Decisions have to be reached through trial and error.


Suitable values are chosen by trial and error.


This treatment was mainly based on trial and error and the experience of the therapist.


However, in conventional fuzzy control design there is no well-defined method for them and often the design is done by trial and error.


These parameters are designed by trial and error.


Although these processes are structured, the rules that govern them are rarely explicit; students typically learn by example, or trial and error.


This was done by trial and error until the desired proportion was produced by the model.


The simple division of the social spectrum into three layers is a result of a great deal of reading, thought, and trial and error.

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Back to overview

Trial and Error: What It Means and How To Use It


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Trial and error meaning: Learn more below.

Have you ever used a process of “trial and error”?
What Is “Trial and Error”?

Trial and error is a “process of trying different possibilities, approaches, or methods, learning from each error until you get to the solution.”

The students found the answer through a process of trial and error.

The students found the answer through a process of try and error.


Trial and error is a noun phrase. It refers to “the process of trying various methods until you come to the correct solution or desired result.”

Let’s say you’re a beginner artist. You need to blend paint to create a purple color, which you’ve run out of. You know you should start with red paint and mix another color into it, but can’t remember which. You try green, but that doesn’t work. Adding yellow doesn’t work either. Finally, you add blue and get the purple paint you wanted. This whole process was one of trial and error.

Becoming an artist requires a lot of trial and error.

Trial and error or Try and error? The former is correct.

The process described in the quote above is one of “trial and error.”

Trial and Error – Spelling

Sometimes some people spell trial and error as “try and error”, but that’s incorrect. This mistake is understandable because if said aloud (and quickly), it might sound like someone is saying “try and error”.

This mistake may also arise because trial and error is basically trying something and then trying something else until you get what you need. The only correct spelling of this phrase is trial and error.

After much trial and error, Raquel and I baked the best cookies ever.

After much try and error, Raquel and I baked the best cookies ever.

We were informed that the best way to develop our skill set would be through trial and error.

We were informed that the best way to develop our skill set would be through try and error.


Avoid Trial and Error When Writing

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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

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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.

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.

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.

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. This leads us to:

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

See also

  • Brute force attack
  • Brute-force search
  • Empiricism

References

  1. Coding Horror: Fail Early, Fail Often
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edit

: a finding out of the best way to reach a desired result or a correct solution by trying out one or more ways or means and by noting and eliminating errors or causes of failure

also

: the trying of one thing or another until something succeeds

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



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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
— Updated example sentences

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  • 1
    trial and error

    Персональный Сократ > trial and error

  • 2
    trial-and-error

    English-Russian dictionary on nuclear energy > trial-and-error

  • 3
    trial-and-error

    English-Russian base dictionary > trial-and-error

  • 4
    trial and error

    Синонимический ряд:

    experiment (noun) experiment; experimentation; test; trial; trial run

    English-Russian base dictionary > trial and error

  • 5
    trial and error

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > trial and error

  • 6
    trial-and-error

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > trial-and-error

  • 7
    trial and error

    метод проб и ошибок: эмпирический метод проверки гипотезы.

    Англо-русский экономический словарь > trial and error

  • 8
    trial and error

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > trial and error

  • 9
    trial-and-error

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > trial-and-error

  • 10
    trial-and-error

    Англо-русский словарь нефтегазовой промышленности > trial-and-error

  • 11
    trial-and-error

    English-Russian dictionary of chemistre > trial-and-error

  • 12
    trial and error

    The Americanisms. English-Russian dictionary. > trial and error

  • 13
    trial-and-error

    English-Russian information technology > trial-and-error

  • 14
    trial and error

    English-Russian big medical dictionary > trial and error

  • 15
    trial-and-error

    English-Russian big medical dictionary > trial-and-error

  • 16
    trial-and-error

    The English-Russian dictionary general scientific > trial-and-error

  • 17
    trial and error approach

    trial and error approach
    n

    Англо-русский строительный словарь. — М.: Русский Язык.
    .
    1995.

    Англо-русский словарь строительных терминов > trial and error approach

  • 18
    trial and error adjustment

    Персональный Сократ > trial and error adjustment

  • 19
    trial and error method

    1. метод постепенного приближения
    2. метод последовательных приближений

    Англо-русский словарь нормативно-технической терминологии > trial and error method

  • 20
    trial-and-error method

    Англо-русский словарь нормативно-технической терминологии > trial-and-error method

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См. также в других словарях:

  • Trial and error — 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… …   Wikipedia

  • trial and error — ► a way of achieving something or solving a problem by trying a number of different methods and learning from the mistakes you make: »Although some products quality can be verified through trial and error, this is not always practical. → See also …   Financial and business terms

  • trial and error — ri al and er ror The method of discovering something desirable by trying many different things until one works; as, the traditional method of finding new drugs is by trial and error. [PJC] And millions miss for one that hits. Swift. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • trial and error — n. the process of making repeated trials or tests, improving the methods used in the light of errors made, until the right result is found trial and error adj …   English World dictionary

  • trial and error — ► trial and error the process of experimenting with various methods until one finds the most successful. Main Entry: ↑trial …   English terms dictionary

  • trial and error — trial and error, adj. experimentation or investigation in which various methods or means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution or to achieve the desired result or effect. [1800 10] * * * …   Universalium

  • trial and error — noun experimenting until a solution is found (Freq. 2) • Hypernyms: ↑experiment, ↑experimentation * * * noun : a finding out of the best way to reach a desired result or a correct solution by trying out one or more ways or means and by noting and …   Useful english dictionary

  • Trial and Error — Tri|al and Er|ror 〈[traıəl ənd ɛ̣rə(r)] n.; ; unz.; Päd.; Verhaltensforschung〉 Methode der Problemlösung u. des Lernens, bei der eine Aufgabe nicht durch strategische Vorüberlegung, sondern durch wiederholtes Ausprobieren verschiedener… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • trial-and-error — adjective 1. 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 • Similar to: ↑empirical, ↑empiric 2. relating to… …   Useful english dictionary

  • trial and error —    Attempting to achieve a satisfactory result by testing and eliminating various methods until the best one is found is called trial and error.     Some of the best cooks learn by trial and error …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • trial and error — {n.} A way of solving problems by trying different possible solutions until you find one that works. * /John found the short circuit by trial and error./ * /The only way Tom could solve the algebra problem was by the method of trial and error./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

Словосочетания

trial and error — последовательное приближение
by trial and error — методом проб и ошибок
trial and error method — метод проб и ошибок, метод подбора
trial and error search — поиск методом перебора всех вариантов
learn by trial and error — учиться методом проб и ошибок
trial and error learning — обучение методом проб и ошибок
method of trial and error — метод последовательных приближений
proceed by trial and error — действовать методом проб и ошибок
trial and error relaxation — метод последовательных приближений; метод пробных подстановок
setting by trial and error — систематический контроль; систематическая поверка

to proceed by trial and error — действовать методом проб и ошибок
integration by trial and error — интегрирование методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error run — исследование методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error code — код, полученный методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error method — метод проб и ошибок
trial-and error method — метод проб и ошибок
trial-and-error search — поиск методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error testing — проверка методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error process — метод проб и ошибок
trial-and-error pricing — установление цен путём метода проб и ошибок
trial-and-error approach — метод проб и ошибок
trial-and-error solution — решение методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error learning — дрессировка методом наказания и поощрения; контрастный метод дрессировки
trial-and-error procedure — метод проб и ошибок
trial-and-error technique — метод проб и ошибок
trial-and-error adjustment — регулирование методом проб и ошибок
trial-and-error calculation — вычисление методом проб и ошибок
blind trial-and-error method — слепой метод «проб и ошибок»
trial-and-error cryptanalysis — криптоанализ методом проб и ошибок
double-trial-and-error method — метод двухсторонних последовательных приближений

ещё 20 примеров свернуть

Автоматический перевод

методом проб и ошибок

Перевод по словам

trial  — суд, испытание, пробный, испытательный
error  — ошибка, погрешность, заблуждение, отклонение, рассогласование, грех, блуждание

Примеры

It was a process of trial and error.

Это был путь проб и ошибок.

I learned most of what I know about gardening through trial and error.

Большую часть того, что я знаю о садоводстве, я изведал путём проб и ошибок.

Дополнение / ошибка

Смотрите также: 

Мультитран  Wikipedia(En)  Academic.ru  Reverso 

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