22 The end of error
The title of this text is provocative to some, who are anxious to point out that the “end of error” is still nowhere in sight. That depends on what is meant by error. The term, as used here, has nothing to do with “soft errors” caused by cosmic rays striking memory chips and flipping their bits. It does not refer to the human errors of incorrect data entry, or programming mistakes. It does not mean experimental error, the inevitable variability of measurement. Here, “error” means mathematical incorrectness, something stated as numerically true when it is not. That is the kind of error that we unfortunately have learned to tolerate, but now have the ability to end through advances in computer technology.
The early computer ...
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