fudge factor
an allowance for a miscalculation or changing circumstances
TRANSLATION
fudge factor = der Mogelfaktor, der Korrekturfaktor --- GOOGLE INDEX fudge factor: approximately 350,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
BBC Exposes FUDGE FACTOR in Global Warming Computer Programming Code
(newsbusters.org headline)
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The real answer to how many solar panels you need is to add a realistic FUDGE FACTOR, so that you can estimate the daily power.
(publicsecrets.org)
(newsbusters.org headline)
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The real answer to how many solar panels you need is to add a realistic FUDGE FACTOR, so that you can estimate the daily power.
(publicsecrets.org)
Did you
know?
fudge factor
noun phrase
- slang for a margin of error: the permittable or acceptable deviation from the target or a specific value; an allowance for slight error or miscalculation; an allowance for changing circumstances
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There are many complicated definitions and explanations for "fudge factor." Websters Dictionary says it is "an invented variable whose purpose is to force a calculated result to give a better match to what happens in the real world." The Collins English Dictionary defines it as "a quantity that is added or subtracted in order to increase the accuracy of a scientific measure." Here is an everyday explanation however:
Imagine that 20 people are coming over for a summer barbecue in the backyard. You decide to make potato salad. Your recipe for ten servings calls for two pounds of potatoes. Just double the recipe and buy four pounds of potatoes. Easy, right? Not so fast. Some of your friends walk around with two plates in their hands when invited to eat. To be safe, buy five pounds and make a little extra, lest your guests start complaining about the empty potato salad bowl. That extra pound of potatoes is a "fudge factor."
Even one of the most famous 20th century geniuses relied on fudge factors. When Einstein wrote down his ideas about the size of the universe, which suggested that it was not changing, his mathematical equations showed otherwise. So to make his equations work, he added a factor that would act against gravity. He called it a "cosmological constant," but it was nothing more than a fudge factor.
The verb "to fudge" (act dishonestly, to falsify) likely originated from the 16th century "fadge," meaning to make something fit or match. The traditional English story traces fudge in this sense to a sailor's reply to anything considered lies or nonsense, which allegedly stemmed from a Captain Fudge, "who always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies."
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SYNONYMS
margin of error, tolerance, latitude, leeway, extra room, elbowroom
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I always add a fudge factor to my estimations, just to be on the safe side."
noun phrase
- slang for a margin of error: the permittable or acceptable deviation from the target or a specific value; an allowance for slight error or miscalculation; an allowance for changing circumstances
---
There are many complicated definitions and explanations for "fudge factor." Websters Dictionary says it is "an invented variable whose purpose is to force a calculated result to give a better match to what happens in the real world." The Collins English Dictionary defines it as "a quantity that is added or subtracted in order to increase the accuracy of a scientific measure." Here is an everyday explanation however:
Imagine that 20 people are coming over for a summer barbecue in the backyard. You decide to make potato salad. Your recipe for ten servings calls for two pounds of potatoes. Just double the recipe and buy four pounds of potatoes. Easy, right? Not so fast. Some of your friends walk around with two plates in their hands when invited to eat. To be safe, buy five pounds and make a little extra, lest your guests start complaining about the empty potato salad bowl. That extra pound of potatoes is a "fudge factor."
Even one of the most famous 20th century geniuses relied on fudge factors. When Einstein wrote down his ideas about the size of the universe, which suggested that it was not changing, his mathematical equations showed otherwise. So to make his equations work, he added a factor that would act against gravity. He called it a "cosmological constant," but it was nothing more than a fudge factor.
The verb "to fudge" (act dishonestly, to falsify) likely originated from the 16th century "fadge," meaning to make something fit or match. The traditional English story traces fudge in this sense to a sailor's reply to anything considered lies or nonsense, which allegedly stemmed from a Captain Fudge, "who always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies."
---
SYNONYMS
margin of error, tolerance, latitude, leeway, extra room, elbowroom
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I always add a fudge factor to my estimations, just to be on the safe side."
