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Gedankenspiel

thought experiment, mental exercise

noun ge-DAN-ken-shpeel Rare
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Also means

hypothetical speculation

Usage Note

Gedankenspiel is commonly used for playful or exploratory mental speculation: das ist nur ein Gedankenspiel = it's just a mental exercise / thought experiment. It is less formal than Gedankenexperiment.

Examples

"Stellen wir uns im Rahmen dieses Gedankenspiels vor, die Regeln wären anders."

Natural Translation

Let us imagine, in the context of this thought experiment, that the rules were different.

Literal Translation

Let-us in-the framework of this thought-play imagine the rules were different.

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