MDMD(4) p.123 small re-write

[David Casseres]

Matthew P. Wiener sez
>"Non-linear" in the sense of "way out of proportion" has been
>around for quite a way, from engineer/hacker slang.  I vaguely
>recall THE NEW HACKER'S DICTIONARY describing this.

Yes, this usage goes at least as far back as vacuum tubes, where, as some 
condition or other changes, the tube may respond linearly (i.e. in strict 
proportion to the change) up to some point, and then "go non-linear" 
beyond that point.  Note that "way out of proportion" and the technical 
mathematical meaning of "non-linear" are different only in emphasis and 
in one being informal while the other is precisely defined.

Ob. Pynchon: I'm sure someone could dig back into the White Visitation 
sequences of Gravity's Rainbow and find out what the Pavlovians called a 
non-linear response to stimuli in the case of dogs or hardons.


Cheers,
David