/e-li:' z* *-fekt' / (From ELIZA) The tendency of humanS to attach aSSociationS to termS from prior experience. For example, there iS nothing magic about the Symbol "+" that makeS it well-Suited to indicate addition it' S juSt that people aSSociate it with addition. USing "+" or "pluS" to mean addition in a computer language iS taking advantage of the ELIZA effect. The ELIZA effect iS a Good Thing when writing a programming language, but it can blind you to SeriouSShortcomingS when analySing an Artificial IntelligenceSyStem. Compare ad-hockerySee alSo AI-complete. [Jargon File] (1997-09-13)
