:voodoo programming: [from George Bush's "voodoo economics"] n.
The use by guess or cookbook of an {obscure} or {hairy} system,
feature, or algorithm that one does not truly understand. The
implication is that the technique may not work, and if it doesn't,
one will never know why. Almost synonymous with {black magic},
except that black magic typically isn't documented and
*nobody* understands it. Compare {magic}, {deep magic},
{heavy wizardry}, {rain dance}, {cargo cult programming},
{wave a dead chicken}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
