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🔗 Many causes 📊 Too many constraints
overdetermination

overdetermination

9.9
A situation where there are more equations than unknown values so you cannot find a single exact solution
  • noun
  • /ˌoʊvərdɪˌtɜːrmɪˈneɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sobredeterminación
  • In mathematics, overdetermination occurs when there are more equations than unknowns to solve.

Examples

  • The overdetermination of variables in the experiment made it difficult to establish a clear conclusion.

  • The model's overdetermination led to conflicting results that could not be reconciled.

  • And this overdetermination involves, at its most basic level, the position of the body of the viewer.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

unsolvability
vsoverdetermination
9.3

A situation when a problem or question has no answer

is a technical case caused by excess equations or constraints making solutions impossible
insolubility
vsoverdetermination
9.9

A problem that people cannot solve

is a specific structural cause involving too many equations or constraints

Surface Forms

overdetermination singular
overdeterminations plural

Morphology

overdetermination = overdetermine (semi-transparent) = over + determine + ation

The noun is derived regularly by adding '-ation' to the verb 'overdetermine'.

Etymology

Overdetermination comes from over meaning 'too many' and determine meaning 'to find or decide a value'. Think of a puzzle with too many rules or equations so you cannot get one clear answer; that is why the word means a system with more equations or limits than unknowns, making a single solution impossible.