Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!sri-unix!WILKINS@SRI-AI.ARPA 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: WilkinsI 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