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Ad hoc
open-in-new
<h2 id="styling">Styling</h2> <p>Style guides disagree on whether Latin phrases like ad hoc should be italicized. The trend is not to use italics.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> For example, <i><a href="/facts/The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style/7g2EwHGA">The Chicago Manual of Style</a></i> recommends that familiar Latin phrases that are listed in the <i><a href="/facts/Webster%27s_Dictionary/A7onwQtb">Webster's Dictionary</a></i>, including "ad hoc", not be italicized.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>[<i>unreliable source?</i>] </p> <h2 id="hypothesis">Hypothesis</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Ad_hoc_hypothesis/m3l9n3ow">Ad hoc hypothesis</a></p> <p>In <a href="/facts/Science/IJoaD7rs">science</a> and <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosophy</a>, ad hoc means the addition of extraneous <a href="/facts/Hypothesis/gMABEJul">hypotheses</a> to a <a href="/facts/Theory/9vrNS1Rr">theory</a> to save it from being <a href="/facts/Falsified/IlxN7cYB">falsified</a>. Ad hoc hypotheses compensate for anomalies not anticipated by the theory in its unmodified form. </p><p>Scientists are often <a href="/facts/Scientific_skepticism/26U3coD9">skeptical</a> of <a href="/facts/Scientific_theories/moMsLrUn">scientific theories</a> that rely on frequent, unsupported adjustments to sustain them. Ad hoc hypotheses are often characteristic of <a href="/facts/Pseudoscience/kdNzoLeS">pseudo-scientific</a> subjects such as <a href="/facts/Homeopathy/WVPa8Qwz">homeopathy</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="in-the-military">In the military</h2> <p>In the military, ad hoc units are created during unpredictable situations, when the cooperation between different units is suddenly needed for fast action, or from remnants of previous units which have been overrun or otherwise whittled down. </p> <h2 id="in-governance">In governance</h2> <p>In national and sub-national governance, ad hoc bodies may be established to deal with specific problems not easily accommodated by the current structure of governance or to address multi-faceted issues spanning several areas of governance. In the UK and other <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_of_Nations/TcIRQnNq">commonwealth</a> countries, ad hoc <a href="/facts/Royal_Commission/Pp6a2X6E">Royal Commissions</a> <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> may be set up to address specific questions as directed by <a href="/facts/Parliament/n2zfmmBC">parliament</a>. </p> <h2 id="in-diplomacy">In diplomacy</h2> <p>In diplomacy, diplomats may be appointed by a government as <a href="/facts/Special_Envoy/pMXBDsQA">special envoys</a>, or diplomats who serve on a ad hoc basis due to the possibility that such envoys' offices may either not be retained by a future government or may only exist during the duration of a relevant cause. </p> <h2 id="networking">Networking</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Wireless_ad_hoc_network/Gwb3FlAD">Wireless ad hoc network</a></p> <p>The term <i>ad hoc networking</i> typically refers to a system of network elements that combine to form a network requiring little or no planning. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Ad_hoc_testing/bjo2Ssf1">Ad hoc testing</a></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Ad_infinitum/1LemHjUl">Ad infinitum</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Ad_libitum/MPDdqksX">Ad libitum</a></i></li> <li><a href="/facts/Adhocracy/TomIfF31">Adhocracy</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Democracy/3tLdVS1C">Democracy</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Heuristic/BcBEkv9c">Heuristic</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/House_rule/jHnkfL2L">House rule</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Russell%27s_teapot/EXNuCvIm">Russell's teapot</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Inductive_reasoning/EJ992JJ9">Inductive reasoning</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Confirmation_bias/o5rHY4lP">Confirmation bias</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Cherry_picking/DBq2DMaK">Cherry picking</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Rheingold, Howard. (2002), <i>Smart Mobs: the Next Social Revolution</i>, <a href="/facts/Perseus/d4KuuNRY">Perseus</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li> The dictionary definition of ad hoc at Wiktionary</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, 2nd Edition <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Yateendra Joshi, " Latin phrases in scientific writing: italics or not", editage Insights, January 14, 2014 <a href="https://www.editage.com/insights/latin-phrases-in-scientific-writing-italics-or-not" target="_blank">https://www.editage.com/insights/latin-phrases-in-scientific-writing-italics-or-not</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Italics". The Economist. Retrieved 6 January 2016. <a href="https://www.economist.com/style-guide/italics" target="_blank">https://www.economist.com/style-guide/italics</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"When to italicize foreign words and phrases". Grammarpartyblog.com. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180622140057/https://grammarpartyblog.com/2012/02/23/when-to-italicize-foreign-words-and-phrases/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180622140057/https://grammarpartyblog.com/2012/02/23/when-to-italicize-foreign-words-and-phrases/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Carroll, Robert T. (23 February 2012), "Ad hoc hypothesis", The Skeptic's Dictionary, John Wiley & Sons, retrieved 27 May 2013 <a href="http://skepdic.com/adhoc.html" target="_blank">http://skepdic.com/adhoc.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Royal commissions". BBC. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2021. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/258957.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/258957.stm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>