[SOLVED] Why computer doesn't make a mistake?

[Masoris]

Computer can calculate more than a million digits without any error.
My threads are sent to Ubuntu forum server without any problem.

To calculate a million digits number, it needs huge number of simple calculation, how computer doesn't make even one error?
To send my threads to Ubuntu forum, it should travel very long distance. How my data doesn't mixed with any noise during that travel?

I suddenly wonder that, how all of these thinks works?

[damis648]

A computer cannot make a mistake, so long as it is programmed correctly. It is not human or animal. Not capable of free thought, so there is nothing that could lead it to make a mistake. As for as noise, I guess that there just isn't any noise.

[smartboyathome]

A computer cannot make a mistake, so long as it is programmed correctly. It is not human or animal. Not capable of free thought, so there is nothing that could lead it to make a mistake. As for as noise, I guess that there just isn't any noise.

They can make mistakes if they are programmed by humans, which make tons of mistakes.

[paul101]

just accept that it works



and whine when it doesn't :lol:

[damis648]

They can make mistakes if they are programmed by humans, which make tons of mistakes.

Correct, but as I stated,

so long as it is programmed correctly
so, yes this is true. As I often hear, "Computers are only as smart as their programmers."

[Barrucadu]

It's because free will is required to make a mistake. Computers do not have free will, and are thus perfect in what they were created to do.

[damis648]

it's because free will is required to make a mistake. Computers do not have free will, and are thus perfect in what they were created to do.

+1

[TBOL3]

Well, when it comes down to it, it all has to do with physical reactions. Whenever you get water at 101 C, at sea level, on earth, it evaporates. Computers are the same way, it's just physical reactions.

And no, they don't always work, ever had a corrupt hard drive?

[Sef]

Computers cannot also make intuitive leaps which lead to advancements.

[Erdaron]

As for as noise, I guess that there just isn't any noise.
There is always noise. Thermodynamics requires it. However, most modern systems are built to minimize noise, and also to detect errors that happen when information is in transit, and then to correct those errors. It is impossible to have a perfect transfer of information, even if all hardware functions as it should.

Because of error-correction algorithms, you may never see any of these hickups, but they are there.

[clinux]

Computers don't make mistakes because they simply work under the laws of physics. IT is a product of physics after all-most things are.
Information travels as binary and what binary is, is 1 for 5 Volts, 0 for nothing (no voltage).

Electrons travelling in a cable or a data bus won't make the mistake of taking the wrong direction or mess up with calculations.

There are some great books out there about how computers work and i strongly suggest them to you. Learning how it all works will ease your programming problems and make you see computers with a different eye.

[ssam]

you do get random errors but the rate is usually very low. in places where is not low, there are error checking and correction systems.

network connections have a fairly high error rate, so there are many levels of checking. packets that get damaged are dropped, and TCP make sure that packets that did not arrive get sent again. (Try downloading a big file, now pull out the network lead for a second and put it back in. there should be no interuption).

hard disks do a bit of checksumming, and advanced file systems do another level of checking.

Severs and high end desktops use error checking ram (ECC). It is estimated that you get "one bit error, per month, per gigabyte of memory" [0]. if you dont correct this it may be harmless, cause a crash, cause data corruption, cause one pixel on the screen to be the wrong colour for a 60th of a second ...

lots of info at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Error_detection_and_correction

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_random_access_memory#Errors_and_error_corr ection

[Canis familiaris]

Who says Computers do not make mistakes.