Neats Vs Scruffies

What Does Neats Vs Scruffies Mean?

“Neats vs. scruffies” is a sort of characterization used in
IT to describe two different approaches to specific disciplines, such as
artificial intelligence. The “neats” prefer to advance in a way that is
completely documentable and provable, in a method that is clear and logically
supported. “Scruffies,” on the other hand, may embrace “fuzzier,” more diverse,
or more ambiguous methods that support results. Neats vs. scruffies has also been described as “logical versus analogical” and “symbolic versus
connectionist.”

Techopedia Explains Neats Vs Scruffies

In general, “neats” use formal methods supported by
statistics and built on transparent logic. By contrast, “scruffies” are more
likely to embrace things like ad hoc rule making or dynamic algorithms that can
be trained to produce the right results. “Neats vs. scruffies” has also been
delineated according to different groups of programmers at MIT and other
thought centers over the years, as they try to make advances in artificial
intelligence. Experts point out that due to the deep philosophical differences
between neats and scruffies, neats may view scruffies’ methods as happenstance
or insufficiently built, where scruffies might see neats’ methods as being restrictive
and limiting to the exploration of the goals in question.