Why Computers are Bad at Algebra | Infinite Series

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/donateinfi The answer lies in the weirdness of floating-point numbers and the computer's perception of a number line. Tweet at us! @pbsinfinite Facebook: facebook.com/pbsinfinite series Email us! pbsinfiniteseries [at] gmail [dot] com Previous Episode Making Probability Mathematical https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HxjiW_KwA Written and Hosted by Kelsey Houston-Edwards Produced by Rusty Ward Graphics by Ray Lux Assistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow Made by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com) Resources: Random ASCII https://randomascii.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/comparing-floating-point-numbers-2012-edition/ Special thanks to Professor Alex Townsend In 1994, Intel recalled - to the tune of $475 million - an early model of their Pentium processor after they discovered it was making arithmetic errors. Arithmetic mistakes - like the one Intel’s Pentium processors were making - are often rooted in computer’s unusual version of the real number line. Comments answered by Kelsey: Neroox05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HxjiW_KwA&lc=z132ehrixviktnumh23fgzmgfkv1dz0c1 Joshua Sherwin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HxjiW_KwA&lc=z13xs5mplpn4d5dgc04cilyxbqr1ifxwd24 Joshua Hillerup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HxjiW_KwA&lc=z12wc1iipuzsirj2h22ucfv5burmibno304