{
  "id": 13505851,
  "title": "Knuth reward check",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/knuth-reward-check-13505851",
  "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 remarkable letters ever. Computer science legend Donald Knuth discovered an error I had found in one of his books and sent me the highly sought-after check. This practice of rewarding error finders is well-known in the computer science community as Knuth's \"reward for any error\" policy. It's an extraordinary event, considering the countless individuals who have scrutinized his works, including those who are far more knowledgeable and diligent than myself.\n\nUpon receiving the letter, I had initially thought I had uncovered an error, but upon further examination, months later, I had to admit my mistake. This was due to the positional nature of the error: it was in the very first word on the first page of the book \"Computer Modern Typefaces.\" This particular book is less popular than others like the TeXbook or The Art of Computer Programming, and it's placed in Volume E of the Computers & Typesetting series, making it a somewhat obscure reference. The Memo field for this error is noted as \"E1\".\n\nDue to Knuth's concern about potential misuse of the check's numbers, I received a fantasy certificate and an amount of $2.88 from the Bank of San Serriffe. This amount is represented as 0x$1.20 in my records, which equates to $2.88 in decimal. A few years later, I submitted another proposed error, but unfortunately, my submission was incorrect. Knuth not only provided a detailed explanation of why I was wrong but also rewarded my persistence with another check for $0.32.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hacker News",
        "title": "Knuth Reward Check",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/knuth-reward-check",
        "published": "2026-10-10T15:47:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}