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1 In artificial intelligence, an optical character recognition system that operates in successive stages, by first checking for features (1) of the letter such as diagonal lines (as in X or K); then the output is fed to letter detectors that have been activated in the first stage and that match the letter shape to their templates; and finally recognition is achieved by identifying the letter detector that is most strongly activated.

2 Any very noisy or disorderly state of affairs. [Named after Pandemonium, the capital of Hell in Milton's Paradise Lost, from Greek pas, pan all + daimon a spirit]

Subjects: Psychology.

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