Construct · 2 fields · 3 citations

Where does accidental collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, two constructs Nearest construct by meaningnaturalcompare the meanings
How to read this

Every construct on the map is compared with every other by the meaning of its definitions, and the closest one is surfaced here. The nearest construct to accidental is natural.

Hold this as a prompt, not a verdict. Two constructs sitting close in meaning is a reason to read them side by side and decide for yourself whether they are one idea under two names. It is not proof that they are. Compare the meanings in the Collider.

accidental2 CONSTRUCTSAccidental errorAIRY · RANDOM ERRORAccidental (bird)NEWTON · OUT-OF-RANGE BIRD

Spokes are fields; dashed arcs are shared lineage. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

1861Accidental error2008Accidental (bird)
2026

Drag to watch the word get claimed. Each field appears at the publication date of the earliest source cited for it. Tap a year to see which.

Statistics and metrology

The random component of measurement error

The random, irregular part of a measurement's error, the fluctuation that scatters repeated readings around their average, as opposed to a systematic error that pushes every reading the same way. Airy's On the Algebraical and Numerical Theory of Errors of Observations and the Combination of Observations (1861) separated accidental errors, which vary unpredictably from one observation to the next and tend to cancel when many are averaged, from constant errors, which do not; modern texts such as Taylor's An Introduction to Error Analysis (1997) treat the same quantity under the name random error. The referent is an unpredictable deviation in the value of a measurement, summarised by a standard deviation, and it has nothing to do with a written sign that alters a musical pitch or a bird found far from its range.[1][2]

Unit
The random deviation of a single reading from the true value, in the units of the measurement
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Estimated from the scatter of repeated readings, by the standard deviation of the readings or the standard error of their mean

Ornithology

A bird recorded far outside its normal range

A bird recorded so far outside its usual geographic range, and so seldom, that it is not counted as a regular member of the local avifauna, a status ranked below even the categories 'casual' or 'rare' in a checklist. The word is a long-standing category in ornithological checklists and field guides; Newton's The Migration Ecology of Birds (2008) reviews how such out-of-range occurrences arise, through storm drift, navigational error, or overshooting on migration. The referent is a living bird in the wrong place, logged as a rare accepted record, and it shares nothing with a random measurement error or a sign that alters a written pitch.[3]

Unit
A single out-of-range occurrence of a species, logged as one accepted record
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Assessed by the count and formal review of accepted sight or specimen records set against the species' normal range

Next

Run it through the Collider, or take the citations with you.

See how accidental sits against neighbouring constructs in the Collider, or export every reference on this page in one click.

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this collision

Nearby collisions

accident3 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, three constructserror4 fields · 8 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsnoise4 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Airy, G. B. (1861). On the algebraical and numerical theory of errors of observations and the combination of observations. Macmillan.
  2. Taylor, J. R. (1997). An introduction to error analysis: The study of uncertainties in physical measurements (2nd ed.). University Science Books.
  3. Newton, I. (2008). The migration ecology of birds. Academic Press.

Cited on this page?

Confirm your construct, or correct us.

If your work is cited behind one of these entries, you know better than we do whether we captured the meaning right. Confirm it, suggest an edit, or dispute it, and your name goes on the entry as an author who has checked it, linked to your ORCID.

Claim your construct