THE CRUNCH GROUP
primary phone: +1 (401) 863 3694
secondary phone: +1 (401) 863 1594
web: http://www.cfm.brown.edu/crunch
Division of Applied Mathematics
182 George st, Box F
Brown University, Providence
Rhode Island, RI 02912, USA

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number-crunching: n.

   [common] Computations of a numerical nature, esp. those that make extensive use of floating-point numbers. The only thing FORTRASH is good for. This term is in widespread informal use outside hackerdom and even in mainstream slang, but has additional hackish connotations: namely, that the computations are mindless and involve massive use of brute force. This is not always evil, esp. if it involves ray tracing or fractals or some other use that makes pretty pictures, esp. if such pictures can be used as screen backgrounds.

[ taken from the jargon lexicon ]