Heuristic

A heuristic is a replicable method or approach for directing one's attention in learning, discovery, or problem-solving. It is originally derived from the Greek "heurisko" (εὑρίσκω), which means "I find". (A form of the same verb is found in Archimedes' famous exclamation "eureka!" – "I have found [it]!") The term was introduced in the 4th century CE by Pappus of Alexandria.

The study of heuristics is sometimes called heuristic, but more often called heuristics. Heuristics, in this sense, is treated as a singular, like physics or mathematics.[1]

The mathematician George Pólya popularized heuristics in the mid–20th century, in his book How to Solve It. He learned mathematical proofs as a student but he did not know, nor was he taught, the ways mathematicians arrived at such proofs. How to Solve It is a collection of ideas about heuristics that he taught to mathematics students – ways of looking at problems and formulating solutions.

How to Solve It describes the following common and simple heuristics, which serve as useful illustrative examples:

• If you are having difficulty understanding a problem, try drawing a picture.
• If you can't find a solution, try assuming that you have a solution and seeing what you can derive from that ("working backward").
• If the problem is abstract, try examining a concrete example.
• Try solving a more general problem first (the "inventor's paradox": the more ambitious plan may have more chances of success).

The word is used adjectivally ("Is it heuristic?") in relation to research or intellectual pursuits. For example, a good theory or idea may be heuristic in that it attempts to find something out or stimulates further investigation. When criticizing theories in the sciences good theories tend to be heuristic.

• In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, hard-coded by evolutionary processes or learned, which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information.
• In philosophy, especially in Continental European philosophy, the adjective "heuristic" (or the designation "heuristic device") is used when an entity X exists to enable understanding of, or knowledge concerning, some other entity Y. A good example is a model, which, as it is never identical with what it models, is a heuristic device to enable understanding of what it models. Stories, metaphors, etc., can also be termed heuristic in that sense. A classic example is the notion of utopia as described in Plato's best-known work, The Republic. This means that the "ideal city" as depicted in the The Republic is not given as something to be pursued, or to present an orientation-point for development; rather, it shows how things would have to be connected, and how one thing would lead to another (often with highly problematic results), if one would opt for certain principles and carry them through rigorously.
• In computer science, a heuristic is a technique designed to solve a problem that ignores whether the solution can be proven to be correct, but which usually produces a good solution or solves a simpler problem that contains or intersects with the solution of the more complex problem.
• Heuristics are intended to gain computational performance or conceptual simplicity, potentially at the cost of accuracy or precision.
• In human-computer interaction, heuristic evaluation is a usability-testing technique devised by expert usability consultants. In heuristic evaluation, the user interface is reviewed by experts and its compliance to ten usability heuristics (broadly stated characteristics of a good user interface) is assessed, and any violating aspects are recorded.

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