stochastropy
/stəˈkæstrəpi/ · stuh-kas-truh-pee
noun
- The tendency of a system to arrive at order through randomness; structure that emerges from unguided variation rather than from design.
- A way of working: making many small, uncertain attempts and keeping whatever holds. “None of it was planned in advance — it accumulated by stochastropy.”
Origin blend of stochastic, from Greek
stókhos “aim, guess,” and entropy, from Greek tropē “a turning.”
Derivative stochastropic, adj.