bogo-sort /boh`goh-sort'/ n.
(var. `stupid-sort') The archetypical perversely awful
algorithm (as opposed to bubble
sort, which is merely the generic bad
algorithm). Bogo-sort is equivalent to repeatedly throwing a deck
of cards in the air, picking them up at random, and then testing
whether they are in order. It serves as a sort of canonical
example of awfulness. Looking at a program and seeing a dumb
algorithm, one might say "Oh, I see, this program uses
bogo-sort." Esp. appropriate for algorithms with factorial or
super-exponential running time in the average case and
probabilistically infinite worst-case running time. Compare bogus, brute
force, lasherism.
A spectacular variant of bogo-sort has been proposed which has
the interesting property that, if the Many Worlds interpretation
of quantum mechanics is true, it can sort an arbitrarily large
array in constant time. (In the Many-Worlds model, the result of
any quantum action is to split the universe-before into a sheaf
of universes-after, one for each possible way the state vector
can collapse; in any one of the universes-after the result
appears random.) The steps are: 1. Permute the array randomly
using a quantum process, 2. If the array is not sorted, destroy
the universe. Implementation of step 2 is left as an exercise for
the reader.