Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Is it a myth that David Letterman had a Top Ten List about the Pentium bug?
Ellen Spertus, on 2020-08-14 15:00, wrote:
I remain skeptical, because of the information (and absence of information) that I cite, but I think I should drop it if David Patterson is adamant that it happened.It's not a matter of great historic importance, just a minor curiosity.
I think your scepticism is well placed, Ellen, and the Royal Society motto "Nullius in verba" ("Take nobody's word for it") certainly comes to mind. I took the liberty of contacting Don Giller, an authoritative Letterman archivist (see <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/fashion/mens-style/david-letterman-late-show-don-giller.html> or <https://donzblog.home.blog/2019/09/26/my-letterman-databases/> ) and he categorically rejects the existence of a Pentium bug Top Ten list from the show. As nice of a story as it would have been to have floating point humour in the late night show cannon, it seems that this one isn't true. Don Giller, on 2020-08-15 00:27, wrote:
Hi, Paul,
First, thanks for the twitter follow. Appreciated!
Second, nope, no Top Ten List, ever.
The only mention of the Pentium issue was during his monologue on December 15, 1994:
"You know, you know what you can do if you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips? You know what I’m talking about? If you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips, get yourself some defective Pentium salsa, uhmm! I’m telling you, unbelievable! Knock yourself out."
Don
-----Original Message----- Sent: Fri, Aug 14, 2020 7:46 pm Subject: Letterman Top 10 list about Pentium bug?
Hi Don,
There's a email thread on the SIGCIS list (Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society) that piqued my interest that you might be in a position to shed some light on.
To the best of your knowledge and databases, did David Letterman ever have a top 10 list about the pentium bug? See the original email attached, it seems like if it happened it was in late 1994 or early 1995.
If you're curious about what other people have said - see the "Is it a myth that David Letterman had a Top Ten List about the Pentium bug?" thread on the list archives here: http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/2020-August/thread.html
best, pi
best, -- _ / \ A* \^ - ,./ _.`\\ / \ / ,--.S \/ \ / `"~,_ \ \ __o ? _ \<,_ /:\ --(_)/-(_)----.../ | \ --------------.......J Paul Ivanov https://pirsquared.org | GPG/PGP key id: 0x0F3E28F7
I'd just like to add that this thread tickles me to no end in both its geniality and its thoroughness. When humor meets citation-checking, it's serious business indeed. I can't speak as to whether the Pentium explicitly popped up in a Letterman Top Ten list, Dr. Spertus, but I can suggest that the January 5th, 1995, list you mentioned, "Top Ten Signs You Bought a Bad Computer," may include an oblique reference specific to that time period. Item "# 2" reads, "The only chip inside is a Dorito." I remember the above gag from an edited volume of Late Show lists I was given. Link from the Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20061207001549/http://www.cbs.com/latenight/late... . Best, Andrew On Fri, Aug 14, 2020 at 10:08 PM Paul Ivanov <pi@berkeley.edu> wrote:
Ellen Spertus, on 2020-08-14 15:00, wrote:
I remain skeptical, because of the information (and absence of information) that I cite, but I think I should drop it if David Patterson is adamant that it happened.It's not a matter of great historic importance, just a minor curiosity.
I think your scepticism is well placed, Ellen, and the Royal Society motto "Nullius in verba" ("Take nobody's word for it") certainly comes to mind.
I took the liberty of contacting Don Giller, an authoritative Letterman archivist (see < https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/fashion/mens-style/david-letterman-late-show-don-giller.html>
or <https://donzblog.home.blog/2019/09/26/my-letterman-databases/> ) and he categorically rejects the existence of a Pentium bug Top Ten list from the show.
As nice of a story as it would have been to have floating point humour in the late night show cannon, it seems that this one isn't true.
Don Giller, on 2020-08-15 00:27, wrote:
Hi, Paul,
First, thanks for the twitter follow. Appreciated!
Second, nope, no Top Ten List, ever.
The only mention of the Pentium issue was during his monologue on December 15, 1994:
"You know, you know what you can do if you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips? You know what I’m talking about? If you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips, get yourself some defective Pentium salsa, uhmm! I’m telling you, unbelievable! Knock yourself out."
Don
-----Original Message----- Sent: Fri, Aug 14, 2020 7:46 pm Subject: Letterman Top 10 list about Pentium bug?
Hi Don,
There's a email thread on the SIGCIS list (Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society) that piqued my interest that you might be in a position to shed some light on.
To the best of your knowledge and databases, did David Letterman ever have a top 10 list about the pentium bug? See the original email attached, it seems like if it happened it was in late 1994 or early 1995.
If you're curious about what other people have said - see the "Is it a myth that David Letterman had a Top Ten List about the Pentium bug?" thread on the list archives here:
http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/2020-August/thread.html
best, pi
best, -- _ / \ A* \^ - ,./ _.`\\ / \ / ,--.S \/ \ / `"~,_ \ \ __o ? _ \<,_ /:\ --(_)/-(_)----.../ | \ --------------.......J Paul Ivanov https://pirsquared.org | GPG/PGP key id: 0x0F3E28F7 _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Thank you, Paul! As nice of a story as it would have been to have floating point
humour in the late night show cannon, it seems that this one isn't true.
Per my original email, there was a 1996 thesis referencing a 1994 internal Intel document that Letterman did make a joke during his *monologue*, which may have been: You know what goes great with those defective Pentium chips? Defective Pentium salsa! Do any of you know someone with enough clout at Intel to find out what their archivists say? This may be an instance of the Mandela Effect <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory#Manifestations_and_types>. Here's another story involving floating point: I used to spend time at the University of Washington CSE Department and Microsoft. To drive from one to the other, you would drive over the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. I always referred to it as the "floating point" bridge, and nobody ever raised an eyebrow. I see a nonironic reference to the Evergreen Floating Point Bridge in a Los Angeles Times article about a traffic accident <https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-22-mn-936-story.html>. Ellen
Hi Ellen! Ellen Spertus, on 2020-08-15 15:42, wrote:
Per my original email, there was a 1996 thesis referencing a 1994 internal Intel document that Letterman did make a joke during his *monologue*, which may have been:
You know what goes great with those defective Pentium chips? Defective Pentium salsa!
I think I made my reply text too long and obscured Don's response which contained the exact date and exact quote, so I'm including it again here: Don Giller, on 2020-08-15 00:27, wrote:
The only mention of the Pentium issue was during his monologue on December 15, 1994:
"You know, you know what you can do if you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips? You know what I’m talking about? If you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips, get yourself some defective Pentium salsa, uhmm! I’m telling you, unbelievable! Knock yourself out."
So there you have it, pi -- _ / \ A* \^ - ,./ _.`\\ / \ / ,--.S \/ \ / `"~,_ \ \ __o ? _ \<,_ /:\ --(_)/-(_)----.../ | \ --------------.......J Paul Ivanov https://pirsquared.org | GPG/PGP key id: 0x0F3E28F7
I did miss it. Totally my fault. Thanks for sending it back out. Ellen On Sat, Aug 15, 2020, 6:31 PM Paul Ivanov <pi@berkeley.edu> wrote:
Hi Ellen!
Ellen Spertus, on 2020-08-15 15:42, wrote:
Per my original email, there was a 1996 thesis referencing a 1994 internal Intel document that Letterman did make a joke during his *monologue*, which may have been:
You know what goes great with those defective Pentium chips? Defective Pentium salsa!
I think I made my reply text too long and obscured Don's response which contained the exact date and exact quote, so I'm including it again here:
Don Giller, on 2020-08-15 00:27, wrote:
The only mention of the Pentium issue was during his monologue on December 15, 1994:
"You know, you know what you can do if you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips? You know what I’m talking about? If you have any of those defective Pentium computer chips, get yourself some defective Pentium salsa, uhmm! I’m telling you, unbelievable! Knock yourself out."
So there you have it, pi
-- _ / \ A* \^ - ,./ _.`\\ / \ / ,--.S \/ \ / `"~,_ \ \ __o ? _ \<,_ /:\ --(_)/-(_)----.../ | \ --------------.......J Paul Ivanov https://pirsquared.org | GPG/PGP key id: 0x0F3E28F7
Hi, Ellen. I had a vague idea of Pentium top ten lists from back when it happened, but not from Letterman. You may have seen this: the web page https://www.netjeff.com/humor/item.cgi?file=PentiumJokes has a couple of lists, ,which are excerpted below for general amusement. It was certainly common at the time for people to make up their own Top Ten lists. Best, Win TOP TEN NEW INTEL SLOGANS FOR THE PENTIUM -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.9999973251 It's a FLAW, Dammit, not a Bug 8.9999163362 It's Close Enough, We Say So 7.9999414610 Nearly 300 Correct Opcodes 6.9999831538 You Don't Need to Know What's Inside 5.9999835137 Redefining the PC -- and Mathematics As Well 4.9999999021 We Fixed It, Really 3.9998245917 Division Considered Harmful 2.9991523619 Why Do You Think They Call It *Floating* Point? 1.9999103517 We're Looking for a Few Good Flaws 0.9999999998 The Errata Inside THE TOP TEN REASONS TO BUY A PENTIUM MACHINE ============================================ 10. YOUR CURRENT COMPUTER IS TOO ACCURATE 9. YOU WANT TO GET INTO THE GUINNESS BOOK AS "OWNER OF MOST EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT" 8. MATH ERRORS ADD ZEST TO LIFE 7. YOU NEED AN ALIBI FOR THE I.R.S. 6. YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT 5. YOU'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE A PLAINTIFF 4. THE "INTEL INSIDE" LOGO MATCHES YOUR DECOR PERFECTLY 3. YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CPU OVERHEATING 2. YOU GOT A GREAT DEAL FROM JPL 1. IT'LL PROBABLY WORK
On Aug 15, 2020, at 6:42 PM, Ellen Spertus <spertus@mills.edu> wrote:
Thank you, Paul!
As nice of a story as it would have been to have floating point humour in the late night show cannon, it seems that this one isn't true.
Per my original email, there was a 1996 thesis referencing a 1994 internal Intel document that Letterman did make a joke during his monologue, which may have been:
You know what goes great with those defective Pentium chips? Defective Pentium salsa!
Do any of you know someone with enough clout at Intel to find out what their archivists say?
This may be an instance of the Mandela Effect.
Here's another story involving floating point: I used to spend time at the University of Washington CSE Department and Microsoft. To drive from one to the other, you would drive over the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. I always referred to it as the "floating point" bridge, and nobody ever raised an eyebrow. I see a nonironic reference to the Evergreen Floating Point Bridge in a Los Angeles Times article about a traffic accident.
Ellen _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
OK, folks, I checked the index of a book on my library shelf - *Inside Intel* - for "Letterman" and bingo. See the attached for the excerpt from this 1997 book, with this being the most important part from the last page of the attached file: [image: Monolog.jpg] So, indeed, apparently monolog and not Top Ten. Brian Berg On Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 8:49 PM Win Treese <treese@acm.org> wrote:
Hi, Ellen.
I had a vague idea of Pentium top ten lists from back when it happened, but not from Letterman. You may have seen this: the web page https://www.netjeff.com/humor/item.cgi?file=PentiumJokes has a couple of lists, ,which are excerpted below for general amusement. It was certainly common at the time for people to make up their own Top Ten lists.
Best,
Win
TOP TEN NEW INTEL SLOGANS FOR THE PENTIUM --------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.9999973251 It's a FLAW, Dammit, not a Bug 8.9999163362 It's Close Enough, We Say So 7.9999414610 Nearly 300 Correct Opcodes 6.9999831538 You Don't Need to Know What's Inside 5.9999835137 Redefining the PC -- and Mathematics As Well 4.9999999021 We Fixed It, Really 3.9998245917 Division Considered Harmful 2.9991523619 Why Do You Think They Call It *Floating* Point? 1.9999103517 We're Looking for a Few Good Flaws 0.9999999998 The Errata Inside
THE TOP TEN REASONS TO BUY A PENTIUM MACHINE ============================================
10. YOUR CURRENT COMPUTER IS TOO ACCURATE 9. YOU WANT TO GET INTO THE GUINNESS BOOK AS "OWNER OF MOST EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT" 8. MATH ERRORS ADD ZEST TO LIFE 7. YOU NEED AN ALIBI FOR THE I.R.S. 6. YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT 5. YOU'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE A PLAINTIFF 4. THE "INTEL INSIDE" LOGO MATCHES YOUR DECOR PERFECTLY 3. YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CPU OVERHEATING 2. YOU GOT A GREAT DEAL FROM JPL 1. IT'LL PROBABLY WORK
On Aug 15, 2020, at 6:42 PM, Ellen Spertus <spertus@mills.edu> wrote:
Thank you, Paul!
As nice of a story as it would have been to have floating point humour in the late night show cannon, it seems that this one isn't true.
Per my original email, there was a 1996 thesis referencing a 1994 internal Intel document that Letterman did make a joke during his monologue, which may have been:
You know what goes great with those defective Pentium chips? Defective Pentium salsa!
Do any of you know someone with enough clout at Intel to find out what their archivists say?
This may be an instance of the Mandela Effect.
Here's another story involving floating point: I used to spend time at the University of Washington CSE Department and Microsoft. To drive from one to the other, you would drive over the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. I always referred to it as the "floating point" bridge, and nobody ever raised an eyebrow. I see a nonironic reference to the Evergreen Floating Point Bridge in a Los Angeles Times article about a traffic accident.
Ellen _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
participants (5)
-
Andrew Meade McGee -
Brian Berg -
Ellen Spertus -
Paul Ivanov -
Win Treese