Hackish speech makes heavy use of pseudo-mathematical metaphors. Four
particularly important ones involve the terms coefficient, factor,
index of X, and quotient. They are often loosely applied to things
you cannot really be quantitative about, but there are subtle
distinctions among them that convey information about the way the
speaker mentally models whatever he or she is describing. Foo factor
and foo quotient tend to describe something for which the issue is
one of presence or absence. The canonical example is {fudge factor}.
It's not important how much you're fudging; the term simply
acknowledges that some fudging is needed. You might talk of liking a
movie for its silliness factor. Quotient tends to imply that the
property is a ratio of two opposing factors: "I would have won except
for my luck quotient." This could also be "I would have won except
for the luck factor", but using quotient emphasizes that it was bad
luck overpowering good luck (or someone else's good luck overpowering
your own). Foo index and coefficient of foo both tend to imply that
foo is, if not strictly measurable, at least something that can be
larger or smaller. Thus, you might refer to a paper or person as
having a high bogosity index, whereas you would be less likely to
speak of a high bogosity factor. Foo index suggests that foo is a
condensation of many quantities, as in the mundane cost-of-living
index; coefficient of foo suggests that foo is a fundamental
quantity, as in a coefficient of friction. The choice between these
terms is often one of personal preference; e.g., some people might
feel that bogosity is a fundamental attribute and thus say
coefficient of bogosity, whereas others might feel it is a
combination of factors and thus say bogosity index.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {factor}{fudge factor}{index of X}{quotient}{signal-to-noise ratio}]