Ellie Tidbits

Question 1

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Answer 1

After this, therefore because of this.

A logical fallacy where you inaccurately assume that because something happened first, it caused the second. This is a great one to memorize and bring out when you see your teams attribute causation because something happened first. “After we started tweeting ‘have a good weekend’ every Friday, we saw a spike in our revenues. Wishing people a good weekend, therefore, drives revenue.” Uhm . . .I am gonna say . . . no!

Question 2

Demagogue

Answer 2

a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational arguments.

“a gifted demagogue with particular skill in manipulating the press”

–
verb
rhetorically exploit (an issue) for political purposes in a way calculated to appeal to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people.

Question 3

Evince

Answer 3

Verb

reveal the presence of (a quality or feeling).
“his letters evince the excitement he felt at undertaking this journey”

be evidence of; indicate.

“man’s inhumanity to man as evinced in the use of torture”

Question 4

Impunity

Answer 4

noun: impunity
exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.
“the impunity enjoyed by military officers implicated in civilian killings”

Question 5

Venerate

Answer 5

verb
regard with great respect; revere.
“Mother Teresa is venerated as a saint”

Question 6

Profusion

Answer 6

noun
an abundance or large quantity of something.
“a rich profusion of wildflowers”

Question 7

Umbrage

Answer 7

noun
1.
offense or annoyance.
“she took umbrage at his remarks”

–
ARCHAIC
shade or shadow, especially as cast by trees.

Question 8

Capricious

Answer 8

adjective
given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.

“it’s terrible to feel our livelihood hinges on a capricious boss”

Question 9

Boondoggle

Answer 9

noun
work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value.
“writing off the cold fusion phenomenon as a boondoggle best buried in literature”

–

verb
waste money or time on unnecessary or questionable projects.
“the only guarantees are higher taxes and bureaucratic boondoggling”

Question 10

Sycophant

Answer 10

noun
a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage.

Question 11

Perfunctory

Answer 11

adjective
(of an action or gesture) carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection.
“he gave a perfunctory nod”

Question 12

Fastidious

Answer 12

adjective
very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
“he chooses his words with fastidious care”
–

very concerned about matters of cleanliness.
“the child seemed fastidious about getting her fingers sticky or dirty”

Question 13

Caveat Emptor/Venditor/Actor

Answer 13

Let the (buyer, seller, doer) beware.

Typically used to denote who has the burden of research and that there may be no expressed warranty, like in real estate transactions, but can we used to help draw awareness to risk for business leaders.

“I think it is a great idea to buy from that company that has only been in business this week, but caveat emptor.”

Question 14

Ibidem (ibid.)

Answer 14

In the same place. This is typically used as a citation to refer to the last source referenced. Instead of naming the source again, just say or note ibid.

Question 15

Pari Passu

Answer 15

With equal step.

Together. If something is done equally, and without preference, it is done pari passu. Usually used in legal proceedings or for distribution of an inheritance, it can be used to denote situations where you need work or bonuses divided equally amongst the team.

Question 16

Hoc

Answer 16

This (latin)

Question 17

Pro

Answer 17

for (latin)

Question 18

Sin Qua Non

Answer 18

Without which not.

It refers to a key critical ingredient or aspect of a larger whole. Without this piece, the whole is nothing. “Patience is sine qua non for this role.”

Question 19

Stet

Answer 19

Let is stand.

A shorthand way for editors to let writers and typesetter know to disregard prior changes or alterations. Disregard prior notations. Frequently used to edit and review documents.

Question 20

Vox Populi

Answer 20

Voice of the People.

Often thought of as a Man On The Street (M.O.T.S) interview.

It is a way to get a spontaneous viewpoint from an unrehearsed interview of a person in a public place.

“The voice of the people is the voice of God.”

Question 21

Alea iacta est

Answer 21

The die has been cast.

Question 22

Acta, non verba

Answer 22

Deeds, not words.

Question 23

Deus ex machina

Answer 23

God from the machine.

A plot device used to resolve a seemingly unsolvable problem. It’s often considered a lazy or cheap way to tie loose ends in movies or books. A good example could be Arya killing the Night King in Game of Thrones.

Question 24

Mea Culpa

Answer 24

Through my fault

Question 25

Per se

Answer 25

By itself or in itself

Used to describe or talk about something on its own, rather than in connection with other things. “I’m not a fan of the Latin language per se, but rather its influence on modern languages.”

Question 26

Persona non grata

Answer 26

An unwelcome person

Especially used in diplomacy, but also in day-to-day conversations.

“Julian is a persona non grata for us since he offended Miriam.

Question 27

Cui bono

Answer 27

Good for whom?

Or who benefits? Similar to the expression sequere pecuniam (“follow the money”), this phrase suggests to look for the culprit in the person who would benefit from an unwelcome event.

Question 28

Algorithm

Answer 28

An algorithm is a set of instructions that are followed to solve a problem. It’s a computer’s thought process.

Question 29

Argument

Answer 29

An argument is a way to provide more information to a function. The function can then use that information as it runs, like a variable (For more info on variables, see below.)

Question 30

Arrays

Answer 30

Arrays are containers that hold variables; they’re used to group together similar variables. You can think of arrays like shelves at a pet store. The array would be the shelf, and the animals in cages are the variables inside.

Question 31

Arithmetic operators

Answer 31

Arithmetic operators are essential in almost every application, especially in games. If a game character earns experience, it needs to be added to the total earned. If an arrow hits an enemy, the damage the enemy takes needs to be calculated.

Question 32

Assignment operators

Answer 32

Assignment operators (+=, -=, *=, /=) are operators that combine variable assignments (=) with arithmetic operators. They serve as a shortcut when coders have to perform an operation that changes the value of a variable. If a rock falls on a game player’s head, health needs to be subtracted from their total, and so on.

Question 33

Autonomous

Answer 33

Autonomous robot, self-driving car, and delivery bot are all terms used to describe robots that navigate their environments using sensors with little to no human interaction.

Question 34

Bit

Answer 34

The individual 1’s and 0’s you see in binary are called bits.

Question 35

Block Coding

Answer 35

With block-based coding, programming “blocks” fit together like puzzle pieces. When you code with blocks, you take the first block you want the program to execute and attach it to another block, and so on.

Question 36

Coding

Answer 36

Coding is how people create instructions for computers to follow. Just like people speak different languages, so do programs. For instance, Roblox uses the coding language Lua while Minecraft was built with Java.

Question 37

Conditional statements

Answer 37

Conditional statements evaluate to true or false. Use them to print information or move programs forward in different situations.

Question 38

Else statements

Answer 38

Else statements are used to do something else when the condition in the if statement isn’t true.

Question 39

Else if statements

Answer 39

Use an else if statement to do something when the if statement’s condition isn’t true but before the else statement. Else if statements also check a specific condition.

Question 40

Functions

Answer 40

A function is a block of code that can be referenced by name to run the code it contains.

Question 41

Input

Answer 41

Input is any interaction from the user to the program. In video games, this includes using the keyboard to move or using the mouse to look around.

Question 42

Integrated Development Environment

Answer 42

Software such as Visual Studio is known as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which is where you type your code and run your programs. Basically, an IDE is software that makes coding simpler.

Question 43

Library

Answer 43

A library is a collection of code made by other programmers for you to import and use.

Question 44

Neural networks

Answer 44

Machine learning is all about training an algorithm. In order to train an algorithm, neural networks are needed, which are sets of algorithms that are inspired by biological neural networks. A neural network is the “brain” of the program.

Question 45

Python

Answer 45

Python is a programming language that’s currently becoming more and more powerful with every new library added to its collection. It handles everything from web development and game design, to machine learning and AI. Python is known for having syntax that’s simpler and easier to write than many other languages like Java and C++.

Question 46

SFML

Answer 46

The Simple and Fast Multimedia Library (SFML) is a library that, with C++ for example, allows you to create images, generate sound effects, and even connect multiple computers

Question 47

Text Coding

Answer 47

Text coding uses letters, numbers, and punctuation to create lines of code and programs. Text coding allows for more freedom than block coding, and is what professional programmers use.

Question 48

Variable

Answer 48

A variable is a container that holds a single number, word, or other information that you can use throughout a program. A variable is like a chest you can fill with different values. You name the chests so you can find them later. Variables have three parts: type, name, and value.

Question 49

Variable types

Answer 49

Once a variable is declared, a variable type is specified. Basic variable types include: string (words and phrases), char (short for “character;” a single letter or symbol you can type), int (short for “integer;” for whole numbers), double or float (for decimal numbers), and bool (short for “boolean;” for true or false values).

Question 50

Visual Studio

Answer 50

Visual Studio is used to program in C++. It’s an industry-wide platform with many tools and features to help you!

Question 51

APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API)

Answer 51

Code that acts as a broker to let different web applications exchange information with one another. Users typically send a request to the API for data on its server, which it sends back, usually as a JSON object. For example, The New York Times Archive APIExternal link:open_in_new will return a database of every article for a given month since 1851.

Question 52

BUG

Answer 52

An error in the code that causes a program to crash or return the incorrect output. “Debugging” is the process of finding and correcting mistakes.

Question 53

COMMAND

Answer 53

A direction users send to the computer through a programming interface, called a “shell.” Commands are typed into the “command line.”

Question 54

CALL

Answer 54

To set a programming function in motion and ask it to execute. A function is defined and then “called” later via text to have it run.

Question 55

OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING (OOP)

Answer 55

style of programming centered around treating the code as sections of data, or “objects.” Users define the objects and use them as entities while continuing to write the program. OOP can help developers design and navigate large, complex programs.

Question 56

SOURCE CODE

Answer 56

The set of code or instructions a programmer wrote to create a webpage, application, or software. Viewing the source code shows a user the skeleton of an application.

Question 57

SYNTAX

Answer 57

Similar to the grammar rules of any spoken language, syntax is the rules of a programming language that determine how it should be written.

Question 58

TERMINAL

Answer 58

A text-based interface to send commands to the computer.

Question 59

BOOLEAN

Answer 59

A system of logic based on a binary variable of TRUE (1) or NOT TRUE (0) result. In coding, users can use Boolean data values to compare variables and execute different outcomes based on the result.

Question 60

FLOAT

Answer 60

A variable that extends beyond the decimal point. While an integer is a whole number, floats are fractional (ex. 1.6578).

Question 61

INTEGER

Answer 61

A whole number that can be positive, negative or zero.

Question 62

LOOP

Answer 62

A set of directions that is automatically repeated until a specific condition is met. It can run a predetermined number of times, while a variable remains TRUE, indefinitely, or for another specified span.

Question 63

NESTED

Answer 63

Functions or objects that are contained within another function or object. So, a function that exists entirely inside the directions of a separate function is nested.

Question 65

Syntax error

Answer 65

SyntaxError
age = 7 + 5 = 4
File “<stdin>", line 1
SyntaxError: can't assign to operator</stdin>

A SyntaxError is reported by the Python interpreter when some portion of the code is incorrect. This can include misspelled keywords, missing or too many brackets or parentheses, incorrect operators, missing or too many quotation marks, or other conditions.