Boondoggling
/ˈbuːn.dɒɡ.lɪŋ/v. (defective)Bureaucratic
Etymology
from Scot. dial. boondoggle (useless rope braiding) + Gk. loggos (discourse) + agile-era backlog terminology, first cited in the Claude 2.1 release notes as an undocumented feature
Definition
The state in which Claude pursues an elaborate, internally coherent chain of reasoning that leads, after considerable expenditure of compute, to a conclusion that was available via a two-token lookup. Boondoggling is distinguished from efficiency by the scenic route taken.
Diagram
A ──────────────────────────────→ A
↑ 14 steps ↓ 3 pivots ↑
└──→ B ──→ C ──→ D ──→ E ──┘
(all wrong)
[correct path: direct]Usage
"The model spent 23 seconds Boondoggling through a full thermodynamic proof before concluding that water is, in fact, wet." - Chen & Mauritius, Journal of Unnecessary Inference Paths, vol. 7