Heuristics

[hyoo-ris-tik or, often, yoo-] /hyʊˈrɪs tɪk or, often, yʊ-/

adjective
1.
serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.
2.
encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error:
a heuristic teaching method.
3.
of, relating to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods.
4.
Computers, Mathematics. pertaining to a trial-and-error method of problem solving used when an algorithmic approach is impractical.
noun
5.
a heuristic method of argument.
6.
the study of heuristic procedure.
/hjʊəˈrɪstɪks/
noun
1.
(functioning as sing) (maths, logic) a method or set of rules for solving problems other than by algorithm See also algorithm (sense 1), artificial intelligence
/hjʊəˈrɪstɪk/
adjective
1.
helping to learn; guiding in discovery or investigation
2.
(of a method of teaching) allowing pupils to learn things for themselves
3.

noun
4.
(pl) the science of heuristic procedure
n.

“study of heuristic methods,” 1897, from heueristic (n.); also see -ics.
adj.

“serving to discover or find out,” 1821, irregular formation from Greek heuretikos “inventive,” related to heuriskein “to find” (from PIE *were- “to find;” cf. Old Irish fuar “I have found”) + -istic. As a noun, from 1860.