Have you been paying attention in your numerical analysis or scientific
computation courses?
If not, it could be a costly mistake. Here are some real
life examples of what can happen
when numerical algorithms are not correctly
applied.
The Patriot
Missile failure, in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, on February 25, 1991
which resulted in 28 deaths, is ultimately attributable to poor handling of rounding
errors.
The explosion
of the Ariane 5 rocket just after lift-off on its maiden voyage off French
Guiana, on June 4, 1996,
was ultimately the consequence of a simple overflow.
The sinking
of the Sleipner A offshore platform in Gandsfjorden near Stavanger, Norway,
on August 23, 1991,
resulted in a loss of nearly one billion dollars. It was
found to be the result of inaccurate finite element analysis.