You know what's another one from physics whose name has nothing to do with the a... | Hacker News

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		sutterd on Nov 8, 2022 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: What is an eigenvalue? You know what's another one from physics whose name has nothing to do with the actual meaning - "Gedanken experiment"

gmfawcett on Nov 8, 2022 [–]

Huh? It literally translates to "thought experiment" in English, which is exactly what it means.

jffry on Nov 8, 2022 | [–]

I think you may have gotten whooshed by the joke - both "eigenvector" and "gedankenexperiment" are mashups of a German word and an English word

Tainnor on Nov 8, 2022 | | [–]

"Gedankenexperiment" is a fully German word, though, not a mashup.

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