Meaning of symbol pusher | Babel Free

Definitions

Someone who engages in symbol pushing; someone solving mathematical problems by manipulating symbols (as in algebra) rather than through visual or intuitive understanding.

derogatory

Examples

“That is to say, in both cases we have in mind an intended model or structure for our theory. We are not in the position of mere "symbol pushers."”

“[…] it is clear that the symbol pusher does not understand Chinese at all; he is only following meaningless instructions. Because computer models, particularly of the symbolic variety, are merely manipulating symbols, and hence understand nothing about what they are doing, they are poor models.”

“While known today as a theoretician, Einstein was not just a symbol pusher; the physics of D appears in much detail in his papers on Brownian motion.”

CEFR level