(noun) The combination of different beliefs, practices, or systems of thought into a unified whole, often resulting in a hybrid approach that incorporates elements from multiple sources.
The team’s development methodology was pure syncretism, blending Agile sprints with waterfall documentation requirements and lean startup experimentation.
(noun) A principle that states one should not remove or change something (like a fence, rule, or tradition) until they understand why it was put there in the first place.
Before the team decided to remove the legacy authentication system, they invoked Chesterton’s fence and spent time understanding why it was originally implemented that way.
(noun) A thought experiment devised by philosopher John Searle in 1980 that challenges the possibility of machine consciousness and understanding.
The Chinese Room argument suggests that even sophisticated AI systems may manipulate symbols without true comprehension.