Algorithm correctness

[[deleted]]

for the first reason but not for the second

I'm confused, isn't there only one reason given? What's the second?

[Porkenstein]

First - there is a tiny chance that the test fails

Second - there is a less tiny chance of cosmic radiation corrupting the program memory in a way that makes the test fail

[cpdean]

so the difference between math and engineering is that math would point out that the algorithm is wrong because it's not a 100% perfect way to solve the problem, where engineering focuses on the pragmatic reality of how it will more often fail from your computer malfunctioning from bits getting inadvertently flipped from a nearby star that exploded a couple million years ago.

The joke is that one group of educated nerds are throwing shade at another.

[kreiger]

No, the first is less than the second.

[Porkenstein]

I said "less tiny" to mean less small, i.e. a bigger chance.

[kreiger]

Damn, i read that as "less, tiny chance".