How the tech industry co-opted the definition of something they fundamentally don't understand Every once in a while, a misunderstanding ends up becoming a new reality—and in this case, the tech industry is the perpetrator, making all of us just a little more misinformed. What the hell am I on about? A little-understood word called recursion. recursion To illustrate how little understood this word really is, particularly in the tech field, let’s ask an AI—Grok, specifically. “What is recursion?”
“Recursion is a programming concept where a function calls itself to solve a problem by breaking it into smaller, similar subproblems. It typically involves a base case to stop the recursion and a recursive case that reduces the problem size. For example, calculating a factorial: factorial(n) = n * factorial(n-1) with a base case of factorial(0) = 1. It’s like a Russian nesting doll—each call opens a smaller version until you reach the smallest one, then it builds back up.” “What is recursion?” “Recursion is a programming concept where a function calls itself to solve a problem by breaking it into smaller, similar subproblems. It typically involves a base case to stop the recursion and a recursive case that reduces the problem size. For example, calculating a factorial: factorial(n) = n * factorial(n-1) with a base case of factorial(0) = 1. It’s like a Russian nesting doll—each call opens a smaller version until you reach the smallest one, then it builds back up.” I have only two words for that: ummmm, no. ummmm, no. Lest you think otherwise, trust me—it’s not just Grok that gets this wrong. The first sentence gives it away: “Recursion is a programming concept…” No, it really isn’t. I have no doubt that would be news to Italian painter Giotto, who used recursion in his painting Stefaneschi Triptych around 1320. Houston, we've got ourselves a problem. “Recursion is a programming concept…” who used recursion in his painting Stefaneschi Triptych Stefaneschi Triptych Let me save you some time and be direct: recursion existed well before programming, and it has existed in multiple fields like logic, art, language, architecture, and others for a very, very long time. What likely happened is that programming became so big, so popular, and recursion—already misunderstood and rarely discussed—got gradually narrowed down largely to just programming. Fear not, for even when it is discussed outside of programming, it is still perfectly misunderstood. Let’s look at my favorite example: the wonderful, mind-bending film Inception. Inception Entire websites are dedicated to breaking down the recursion in the film that doesn’t exist. You’re probably asking yourself, “Then what are they on about?” The answer, at least for Inception, is nesting. “Then what are they on about?” Inception Nesting, which is not recursion, is when we have things within things within things. Of course, the best example is Russian nesting dolls (I mean, it’s kinda in the name), but this is exactly what happens in the movie—there are dreams within dreams within dreams. So it’s an absolutely wonderful and beautiful example of nesting, but it’s not recursion. Nesting Let’s continue and look at another tech example of what recursion certainly isn’t. Type “recursion” into Google. Near the top it says “Did you mean: recursion,” with “recursion” appearing as a hyperlink. Click that, and it loads the same page again, creating an infinite loop without a hint of actual recursion. Facepalm. Facepalm. @Google: That is an example of a loop, not recursion #GetItRight So what the hell actually is recursion? So what the hell actually is is recursion? Well, I had to come up with my own definition—because that seems to be the popular thing to do these days. The thing is, my definition is broad enough that it defines recursion in a manner where it can be applied to multiple fields—you know, like how it was before Big Tech got involved. you know, like how it was before Big Tech got involved. Recursion is a process or structure in which each step, layer, or generation contains or operates on a representation of the previous one, creating cumulative self-reference. Recursion is a process or structure in which each step, layer, or generation contains or operates on a representation of the previous one, creating cumulative self-reference. Recursion is a process or structure in which each step, layer, or generation contains or operates on a representation of the previous one, creating cumulative self-reference. The cumulative self-reference doesn’t have to go on forever or be particularly long—it can be either finite or infinite. It also has nothing to do with “base cases,” except in a few fields, so let’s return to Italian painter Giotto to see some real recursion. In Stefaneschi Triptych (c. 1320), he depicts Cardinal Stefaneschi kneeling before St. Peter, offering him the very painting you’re looking at—an image of the painting within the painting. Now that’s recursion: an object containing a representation of itself. Stefaneschi Triptych But let’s make it even simpler, because this can be a mind-bending topic, for sure—two mirrors facing each other. two mirrors facing each other. Now that’s crazy recursion in action. See, each new image reflects the last, creating a seemingly infinite strain of smaller and smaller mirrors. Each new image contains the previous, which contains the previous, and so on and so forth. That’s recursion. Pardon me, but I must reemphasize: TWO MIRRORS FACING EACH OTHER RESULTS IN RECURSION. TWO MIRRORS FACING EACH OTHER RESULTS IN RECURSION. TWO MIRRORS FACING EACH OTHER RESULTS IN RECURSION. Phew! I feel better. The world now shines just a little brighter because I’ve cleared up a topic that no one knew needed fixing. Think about it. I had a thought about recursion. That thought about recursion led to an investigation. That thought about recursion led to an investigation that led to identifying a problem. That thought about recursion led to an investigation that led to identifying a problem that led to fixing it. That thought about recursion led to an investigation that led to identifying a problem that led to fixing it that led to this sentence you’re now reading, encasing you in a whirlwind of recursion that leaves your head spinning. And lest you have any doubts, ultimately, who did I reference for my understanding of recursion? Well, myself, of course.

This piece was written for humor or satire and may include nonfactual statements, stories, or anecdotes.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

Nice Try, Google, But That’s Not Recursion

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