Knuth reward check
- ID
- 34165
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 10 Oct 2026, 11:47 PM
- Fetched
- 11 Oct 2026, 8:19 PM
- Provider
- Hacker News
- Category
- dev-community
- Original URL
- https://www.thomas-huehn.com/knuth-reward-check/
- Source URL
- https://hnrss.org/best
Summary
- Score
- 3.5
- Created
- 11 Oct 2026, 8:20 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developers
What happened
The author recounts finding an error in Donald Knuth's "Computer Modern Typefaces"—Volume E, page 1, first paragraph, first word, noted in the memo field as "E1"—after re-checking it for months before reporting. Knuth confirmed it and sent a reward check; because real checks stopped years ago, rewards now come as fantasy Bank of San Serriffe certificates. A later proposed error was wrong, but Knuth still sent $0.32 after counting a throwaway sentence in the report as a good suggestion.
Why it matters
For anyone who files or triages software issues, the concrete pattern is to isolate the exact location—here Volume E, page 1, first paragraph, first word—and separate the defect claim from incidental suggestions; the second report earned $0.32 despite being technically wrong because one throwaway sentence was useful. Maintainers can also consider whether small symbolic rewards still motivate precise reports now that Knuth issues fantasy certificates instead of real checks.
Discussion angle
Should maintainers reward useful suggestions inside wrong bug reports, and how would that change issue templates—e.g. separate fields for precise defect location and "additional suggestions"?