wmartin (07/29/82)
Dickson's "Computers Don't Argue" also appears in Asimov's anthology SPACE MAIL (at least I thought Asimov edited it; I've given away my copy already). This is a collection of stories in the special format of letters or memos; that is, the story is a series of letters or memos, or one long one. As I recall, the story is comprised of the letters between the individual and the book club, and then with lawyers and government agencies. Will Martin
bentson@sri-unix (09/18/82)
I spent an evening looking for the story about a series of computer errors that leads to a customers order for execution as described by Rick Lindsley. That was a month ago. Just today I discovered that some of my books were still boxed. So... I found the title "Computers Don't Argue" by Gordon Dickson in the September 1965 issue of Analog. That should help determine the first publication. Randy Bentson Colo State U - Comp Sci ucbvax!hplabs!csu-cs!bentson
thomas (09/20/82)
Recently reprinted in an anthology whose name approximates "Best stories from 50 years of Analog". You get it free for subscribing to Analog (at least if you have the right subscription offer). =Spencer
geo (09/23/82)
Speaking of computers killing people, I read an article a couple of years ago about a man who pulled to the side of the road on one of your tightly policed florida tolled highways. (We don't have them here, so I don't know what you really call them.) Apparently he was just coming back from his father's funeral. A florida state trooper saw his car, and radioed in the liscense number. Apparently the programme that assigns liscense numbers in florida reassigned him the number of a car that had been stolen in 1971. When the trooper radioed in the number he was told it was for a stolen car. He came up to the man's car with his pistol drawn, and when the man seemed unco-operative, (Perhaps he was still overcome with grief, we will never know for sure now) the nervous State Trooper shot him dead. I know this isn't science fiction, but I had to submit it when someone asked for references to fictional stories about computer programmes killing people.