Lasherism
<jargon, algorithm> (Harvard) A program that solves a standard
problem (such as the {Eight Queens Puzzle} or implementing the
{life} {algorithm}) in a deliberately nonstandard way.
Distinguished from a {crock} or {kluge} by the fact that the
programmer did it on purpose as a mental exercise. Such
constructions are quite popular in exercises such as the
{Obfuscated C contest}, and occasionally in {retrocomputing}.
Lew Lasher was a student at Harvard around 1980 who became
notorious for such behaviour.
[{Jargon File}]
(1994-12-07)