Knuth Reward Check
Twenty years ago, I received one of the most fantastic letters of my life. Computer science icon Donald Knuth had confirmed a mistake I had discovered in one of his books and sent me a coveted check. Knuth and his rewards for any errors in his books, even typographical ones, are computer science folklore. It was preposterous to think I could possibly earn such a check!
His books had been scrutinized by thousands of readers, smarter and more patient than myself. After months of rechecking, I finally reported the error to Knuth, who was dismissive at first. The mistake I found was in a lesser-known book, "Computer Modern Typefaces," specifically on page one, in the first paragraph, on the very first word.
That's why the memo field reads "E1": Computer Modern Typefaces is Volume E in the Computers & Typesetting series. Page 1. To protect Knuth from potential misuse, he censored the check amount slightly, and today, I receive a fantasy certificate from the Bank of San Serriffe. The entry reads "0x$1.20", or $2.88 in decimal. A few years later, I submitted another proposed error but was incorrect.
Knuth provided detailed explanations as to why I was wrong, but due to a throwaway sentence in my report being counted as a good suggestion, I again received a check, this time for $0.32.
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