[from George Bush Sr.'s "voodoo economics"]
1. The use by guess or cookbook of an {obscure} or {hairy} system,
feature, or algorithm that one does not truly understand. The
implication is that the technique may not work, and if it doesn't,
one will never know why. Almost synonymous with {black magic}, except
that black magic typically isn't documented and nobody understands
it. Compare {magic}, {deep magic}, {heavy wizardry}, {rain dance},
{cargo cult programming}, {wave a dead chicken}, {SCSI voodoo}.
2. Things programmers do that they know shouldn't work but they try
anyway, and which sometimes actually work, such as recompiling
everything.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {black art}{black magic}{cargo cult programming}{cookbook}{deep magic}{heavy wizardry}{rain dance}{SCSI voodoo}{wave a dead chicken}{wizard}]