A style of storytelling in which plot does not unfold chronologically (e.g. Go, Pulp Fiction, Rashomon). One or two flashbacks does not make a film non-linear, but an extended flashback might (e.g. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
Refers to a device or process in which the output is not directly proportional to the input. Often used in the satellite communication context to refer to the (undesirable) characteristics of practical high power amplifiers.
Anything other than linear. A non-linear relationship between the input and output of an amplifier, loudspeaker, or whatever creates harmonic and intermodulation distortion.
Systems that behave in an unexpected way, not changing proportionally to a change in input. Sometimes going down when you expect them to go up, doing nothing instead, or changing drastically with only minor changes to the input. Nonlinear systems fail the mathematical principle of 'superposition'.
describes the state where an outcome does not give a directly proportional output for a change in input. Frequently used to describe the mathematical characteristics of a data series. Using a linear forecasting model to forecast linear data gives highly restrictive results. Some treatment of a non-linear data series is required to make a linear forecasting model function. Best practices require the application of non-linear methods to data which will then accommodate both linear and non-linear data regardless.
For most of their history, films have been edited in a linear fashion. That is, one shot is placed after another in a single, very long strand of film. Computer technology has made it possible to edit in a non-linear fashion: A non-linear editing system allows an editor to order and reorder shots and scenes the way one can rearrange words and sentences in a word processor.
Video editing which doesn't require all shots to be assembled in a linear fashion, when referring to editing can also be referred to as “digital
In mathematics a system with at least one variable with a power greater than one. I.e. the equation has squares, cubes etc. Graphs are far more interesting than those of linear systems.
A linear hearing aid is one that adds the same amount of gain to the incoming signal, regardless of how soft or loud the incoming signal is, up to a cutoff point or saturation. A non-linear hearing aid is one that varies the amount of gain added to an incoming sound based upon the intensity of the incoming sound. Usually in non-linear hearing aids, soft incoming sounds have more gain added to them than loud incoming sounds.
Where the output from a system produced by a change in input, is not a simple proportion of that input change. Non-linear outputs may multiply the input changes, or hardly change at all, or suddenly expand out of sight. See Murphy's curve.
Video stored on something other than tape, which is linear. Usually refers to a video stored digitally on a hard disk. The highlight of this, for us, is the ability to skip through the show quickly and easily. For video editors, it means the ability to easily rework cuts and edits at any point in the show without actually recording it consecutively. The premier system for non-linear editing is Avid, and "Avid" is sometimes used interchangeably with "non-linear."
is not linear. In other words, functions that lack either of the properties f(x+y) =f(x)+f(y) and f(ax) = af(x).[1