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Bogo-Sort

/boh'goh-sort'/

n. (var. 'stupid-sort') The archetypical perversely awful algorithm (as opposed to bubble sort, which is merely the generic *bad* algorithm). Bogo-sort is equivalent to repeatedly throwing a deck of cards in the air, picking them up at random, and then testing whether they are in order. It serves as a sort of canonical example of awfulness. Looking at a program and seeing a dumb algorithm, one might say "Oh, I see, this program uses bogo-sort."

Compare bogus, brute force.