>>>Haven't heard that method invoked in a bit.
>>>Back then, we called it "The binary chop."
>>
>>Chop is about right :)
>>It is a move of desperation.
>>As they say "Crude, but effective"
>
>Sometimes the only way. Odd, but effective.

I remember "inventing" this technique a long time ago when I wanted to figure out which bad network card was taking down an entire LAN. Clearly it's been in use for a long time before then but I was never taught about it and I haven't seen it on any kind of curriculum.

My guess is a lot of people who have done significant troubleshooting of some kind have figured this out on their own, or been mentored by someone familiar with it.