Xref: utzoo comp.sys.next:18377 comp.arch:23057 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!news.larc.nasa.gov!grissom.larc.nasa.gov!kludge From: kludge@grissom.larc.nasa.gov ( Scott Dorsey) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next,comp.arch Subject: Re: parity is for farmers? Message-ID: <1991Jun3.173531.6732@news.larc.nasa.gov> Date: 3 Jun 91 17:35:31 GMT References: <1991May21.232331.24888@cs.umn.edu> <1991Jun03.040242.15406@ariel.unm.edu> Sender: news@news.larc.nasa.gov (USENET Network News) Reply-To: kludge@grissom.larc.nasa.gov ( Scott Dorsey) Distribution: na Organization: NASA Langley Research Center Lines: 13 In article <1991Jun03.040242.15406@ariel.unm.edu> ratshana@triton.unm.edu (R.L.) writes: >1) Unless you buy really cheap memory, you should NEVER have a problem with > screwed up RAM. Besides, if the RAM is screwy, whats the worst that can > happen? Your term window dies, so you kill it on another task... Well, one thing that can happen is that a simulation that is run produces incorrect output, which is a very curious anomaly. Someone writes a thesis to explain that anomaly, then two people write books citing that thesis. A piece of equipment is constructed based upon the data in one of those books and it fails, killing someone. Then a posting is made to comp.risks about the danger of computer simulations... --scott (the example, incidentally, occurred on a Cyber machine)