Digital Dynamics Vocabulary

the ratio of useful information to irrelevant data

“Twitter has a low signal-to-noise ratio during breaking news events.”

Origin: Radio engineering term (early 20th century)

the energy or mental capacity required to deal with a situation

“I don't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with this right now.”

Origin: Electronics term referring to frequency range

the delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction

“There was a noticeable latency between my question and his answer.”

Origin: Latin latens `lying hidden`

a set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data

“We need to establish a protocol for how we share files.”

Origin: Greek prōtokollon `first sheet glued to a papyrus roll`

the quality of dealing with ideas rather than events; hiding complexity

“The interface provides a layer of abstraction over the complex database.”

Origin: Latin abstractio `drawing away` from ab- `away` + trahere `to draw`

the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information

“Interoperability between the two platforms is crucial for the merger.”

Origin: Latin operari `to work` + inter- `between`

the capacity to be changed in size or scale

“The startup focused on the scalability of its business model.”

Origin: Latin scala `ladder` + -ability

the scale or level of detail present in a set of data

“We need more granularity in these sales reports to spot the trend.”

Origin: Latin granum `grain`

the repeated application of a recursive procedure or definition

“Understanding recursion is a rite of passage for programmers.”

Origin: Latin recursio `running back` from re- `back` + currere `to run`

a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations

“The hiring algorithm may inadvertently introduce bias.”

Origin: Arabic al-Khwārizmī (Persian mathematician)

a tangible representation of a fact, quality, or feeling

“Think of words as tokens of meaning passed between minds.”

Origin: Old English tacn `sign, symbol`

a preselected option adopted when no alternative is specified

“Cynicism has become his default mode of thinking.”

Origin: Old French defaute `fault, failure`

a trial version of software; a preliminary stage

“The project is still in beta, so expect some bugs.”

Origin: Second letter of Greek alphabet

regarded as obsolete and best avoided

“That management style is deprecated in modern companies.”

Origin: Latin deprecari `ward off by prayer`

grouping tasks to be performed together

“I'm batching my emails to increase productivity.”

Origin: Run-on form of baking batches of bread

the process of converting information or data into a code

“He spoke in metaphors, a form of social encryption.”

Origin: Greek kryptos `hidden`

relying on sheer power or repetition rather than ingenuity

“They solved the problem through brute force rather than elegance.”

Origin: Latin brutus `heavy, dull` + fortis `strong`

an isolated environment for testing

“This meeting is a sandbox for new ideas—no judgment allowed.”

Origin: Children`s play area