Any time I hear someone mutter "non-trivial" a little piece of me dies inside. What other art/profession uses that word?<p>I can't imagine an automotive engineer describing a new car engine as non-trivial or a painter describing his work as non-trivial.<p>Anyways, what words wind you guys up?<p>Edit: Happy Monday, btw.
I have to step in here to defend "non-trivial".<p>Perhaps it is abused as a term by the population at large, but I'm reasonably sure it has its roots in theoretical computer science and maths. It has a meaning that is distinct from "complex". It means that something requires something more than pure mechanical verification or straightforward inspection.<p>A painter could use "non-trivial" in a sensible way. How much effort is involved in X? Well, it's non-trivial, because it involves more than having a look. It isn't estimating the effort, it is instead a binary classification - trivial and non-trivial.<p>Finally, to answer your question, I don't dislike individual words. I only dislike them once they are combined into sentences.
Idempotent.<p>But non-trivial does have a specific meaning: it means that we don't have any code already written or proven technique that we can simply reuse for or apply to this problem, and some new knowledge will have to be synthesized, and there's a risk in making any estimates of time/cost until more is known.
Drill. Like "drill down".<p>It seems that trepanation might be a good response to someone using this word.<p>"Could you drill down into my data set and shift some paradigms?" "Yes, and while I'm at it, I'll equalize your humours." <i>WHIRR</i> "Indeed."