Burt add numbers: a tale of software

ABSTRACT

One day, an agent from the government asked Burt, a software engineer of great renown, who lives near the realm of possibility, to write a program to add up the numbers from 1 to 10. Apparently, the government adds numbers quite often, and when the government wants to automate their processes they consult with the best and the brightest. On the grounds that there is nothing quite so banal as the answer to a question, Burt turned down the commission, which would have rewarded him with one hour of time on the government's biggest iron: a super duper computer. Besides, other commissions kept him busy.