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From: rk9005@ucsfcca.UUCP (Dick Karpinski)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: "Controlled experiment": redundancy or retronym?
Message-ID: <380@ucsfcca.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 4-May-85 19:33:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucsfcca.380
Posted: Sat May  4 19:33:27 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 16-May-85 21:24:14 EDT
References: <477@utai.UUCP>
Reply-To: rk9005@ucsfcca.UUCP (Dick Karpinski)
Distribution: net
Organization: UCSF Computer Center
Lines: 19
Summary: Neither, rather exp. with controls (untreated subjects)

In article <477@utai.UUCP> gh@utai.UUCP (Graeme Hirst) writes:
>expression "controlled experiment".  ("In one of the few controlled
>...
>   Is this simply an egregious redundancy, similar to the popular "past
>history", or is it a true retronym; that is, has the word "experiment"

I would believe that "controlled experiment" deals with "controls"
(people, animals, blocks of wood, ...) who get everything but the
critical "treatment".  It's a device for removing or detecting any
bias in the procedure, albeit still an imperfect one.

Dick
ps Does this really get out to the net?

-- 
Dick Karpinski    Manager of Unix Services, UCSF Computer Center
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