{
  "id": 13454491,
  "title": "Knuth Reward Check",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/knuth-reward-check",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-10T15:47:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hacker News",
    "slug": "hacker-news",
    "url": "https://www.thomas-huehn.com/knuth-reward-check"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Computer scientist Donald Knuth awarded error correction check",
    "Mistake found in \"Computer Modern Typefaces\" on page 1",
    "Fantasy check amounts: $2.88 and $0.32"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}