Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
mu \mu\ n. (m[=u])
The 12th letter of the Greek alphabet ([mu], [MU]).
[WordNet 1.5]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
mu
n 1: the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
mu
/moo/
The correct answer to the classic trick question ?Have you stopped beating
your wife yet??. Assuming that you have no wife or you have never beaten
your wife, the answer ?yes? is wrong because it implies that you used to
beat your wife and then stopped, but ?no? is worse because it suggests that
you have one and are still beating her. According to various Discordians
and Douglas Hofstadter the correct answer is usually ?mu?, a Japanese word
alleged to mean ?Your question cannot be answered because it depends on
incorrect assumptions?. Hackers tend to be sensitive to logical
inadequacies in language, and many have adopted this suggestion with
enthusiasm. The word ?mu? is actually from Chinese, meaning ?nothing?; it
is used in mainstream Japanese in that sense. In Chinese it can also mean ?
have not? (as in ?I have not done it?), or ?lack of?, which may or may not
be a definite, complete 'nothing'). Native speakers of Japanese do not
recognize the Discordian question-denying use, which almost certainly
derives from overgeneralization of the answer in the following well-known
Rinzai Zen koan:
A monk asked Joshu, ?Does a dog have the Buddha nature?? Joshu
retorted, ?Mu!?
See also has the X nature, Some AI Koans, and Douglas Hofstadter's G?del,
Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (pointer in the Bibliography in
Appendix C.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
mu
1. The country code for Mauritius.
2. /moo/ The correct answer to the classic trick
question "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?". Assuming
that you have no wife or you have never beaten your wife, the
answer "yes" is wrong because it implies that you used to beat
your wife and then stopped, but "no" is worse because it
suggests that you have one and are still beating her.
According to various Discordians and Douglas Hofstadter the
correct answer is usually "mu", a Japanese word alleged to
mean "Your question cannot be answered because it depends on
incorrect assumptions".
Hackers tend to be sensitive to logical inadequacies in
language, and many have adopted this suggestion with
enthusiasm. The word "mu" is actually from Chinese, meaning
"nothing"; it is used in mainstream Japanese in that sense,
but native speakers do not recognise the Discordian
question-denying use. It almost certainly derives from
overgeneralisation of the answer in the following well-known
Rinzei Zen teaching riddle:
A monk asked Joshu, "Does a dog have the Buddha nature?"
Joshu retorted, "Mu!"
See also has the X nature, AI Koan.
[Douglas Hofstadter, "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden
Braid"].
[Jargon File]
(2000-11-22)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
Mu
(Greek letter).
1. /micro/ prefix denoting division by 10^6, e.g. mu m
(micrometre, a millionth part of a metre). Sometimes written
as a 'u', the ASCII character nearest in appearance.
2. /myoo/ In the theory of functions, mu x . E
denotes the least value of x for which E = x, i.e. the least
fixed point of the function \ x . E. The recursive
function mu f . H f satisfies (and is defined by) the equation
mu f . H f = H (mu f . H f)
An alternative notation for the same function is
fix H = H (fix H)
See fixed point combinator.
3. multiple value.
[Jargon File]
(1995-10-30)