chunking

1. 1
   noununcountable

   A memory strategy that recodes separate pieces of information into larger units to make better use of short-term memory.

   Memorizing the digits in pairs is a simple form of chunking.

   Through chunking, the brain stores 'FBI' and 'CIA' as single units rather than six separate letters.

   Note

   Psychology's name for a trick everyone already relies on. Joshua Foer, in Moonwalking with Einstein (2011), points to phone numbers broken into two parts plus an area code and to credit card numbers set in groups of four. The digits stay the same. What changes is how many separate items memory has to hold. Each grouped unit is itself called a chunk, and the mind is said to chunk information.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The splitting of memory or data into smaller units to make processing easier.

   Chunking the dataset allowed each piece to be processed on a separate machine.

   The upload relies on chunking, so a dropped connection only loses one segment.

   Similarsegmentation, partitioning, splitting

   Note

   In computing the pieces matter because each can be handled on its own: stored, sent or processed independently of the rest. That is why a chunked upload survives a dropped connection and why a large dataset can be spread across machines. The size of each piece is often set to fit a fixed buffer. The direction is the reverse of the memory strategy, which builds larger units out of small ones.

3. 3
   verb

   Present participle of chunk.

   He is chunking the data before running the analysis.

   The editor kept chunking the manuscript into shorter passages.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every sense of the verb chunk, not only the breaking and dividing ones. In Southern US slang, chunk means to throw, so chunking can simply mean throwing. It can also mean dealing an opponent a heavy blow of damage. After the, as in the chunking of the data, the gerund shades into the noun uses, such as the computing sense.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   A way of presenting information that splits concepts into small pieces, using tools like bulleted lists, short subheadings, and brief sentences to make reading easier.

   Good chunking turns a dense report into something readers can scan in seconds.

   Web writers rely on chunking, with bullet points and headings guiding the eye down the page.

   Note

   A writers' and publishers' term, and a cousin of the memory strategy. In psychology the mind does the grouping; here the writer does it in advance, on the page, so the reader does not have to. Its usual tools are bulleted lists, short subheadings and sentences carrying one or two ideas. In editing talk it often takes a judgment, as in good chunking, careful chunking or poor chunking.

5. 5
   noununcountable

   A division method that solves problems by repeatedly subtracting the divisor, also known as the partial-quotients method.

   Chunking breaks a division problem into easy steps of repeated subtraction.

   Many elementary schools teach chunking before moving on to long division.

   Note

   A classroom name for a gentler route through division. The student does not find each digit of the answer in turn. Instead, they subtract comfortable multiples of the divisor (ten times it, then five times it) and finally add up how many were taken away. Teachers also call it the partial-quotients method; the two names describe the same procedure.

6. 6
   noununcountable

   Breaking something up, usually with a hammer or crowbar, to form short, thick pieces.

   Chunking the granite required a crowbar and plenty of force.

   The chunking of the scrap metal made it easier to haul away.

   Similarbreaking, smashing

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