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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

More or Less: Big Numbers

Factual

Data represented by lines and numbers.

15/05/2015

Big Numbers

BBC World Service - More or Less, Big Numbers

How a simple computer bug has led to explosions, missing planes and more

How a simple computer bug has led to explosions, missing planes and more.

Big numbers do not just confuse people – many computers struggle to process them too. Tim Harford talks to technology journalist Chris Baraniuk, who explains how a simple software bug affects computers controlling planes, spacecraft and has led to explosions, missing space probes and more. And good news – two mothers who asked us to work out the chances of giving birth on the same day have had their babies. We reveal what happened.

(Photo:Composition of connected abstract elements on the subject of networking, science, education and modern technology. Credit: Shutterstock)

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