Limits of Correctness in Computers
Limits of Correctness in Computers
- New search for: Smith, Brian Cantwell
- New search for: Smith, Brian Cantwell
Abstract On October 5, 1960, the American Ballistic Missile Early-Warning System station at Thule, Greenland, indicated a large contingent of Soviet missiles headed towards the United States [1]. Fortunately, common sense prevailed at the informal threat-assessment conference that was immediately convened: international tensions weren’t particularly high at the time, the system had only recently been installed, Kruschev was in New York, and all in all a massive Soviet attack seemed very unlikely. As a result no devastating counter-attack was launched. What was the problem? The moon had risen, and was reflecting radar signals back to earth. Needless to say, this lunar reflection hadn’t been predicted by the system’s designers.
Document information
Limits of Correctness in Computers
1993-01-01
19 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English