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From: WILKINS@SRI-AI.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Re: The Four-Color Theorem
Message-ID: <17402@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Mar-84 13:54:46 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.17402
Posted: Thu Mar  8 13:54:46 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 07:53:28 EST
Lines: 13

From:  Wilkins  

I am not familiar with the literature on the 4-color proof, nor with whether it
is commonly accepted.  I do however have a lot of experience with computer
programs and have seen a lot of subtle bugs that do not surface 'til long after
everyone is convinced the software works for all possible cases after having
used it.  The fact that another person wrote a different program that got the
same results means little as the same subtle bugs are likely to be unforeseen
by other programmers.  If the program is so complicated that you cannot prove
it or its results correct, then I think the mathematicians would be foolish
to accept its output as a proof.

David