'Approximate Computing' Saves Energy 154
hessian writes "According to a news release from Purdue University, 'Researchers are developing computers capable of "approximate computing" to perform calculations good enough for certain tasks that don't require perfect accuracy, potentially doubling efficiency and reducing energy consumption. "The need for approximate computing is driven by two factors: a fundamental shift in the nature of computing workloads, and the need for new sources of efficiency," said Anand Raghunathan, a Purdue Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has been working in the field for about five years. "Computers were first designed to be precise calculators that solved problems where they were expected to produce an exact numerical value. However, the demand for computing today is driven by very different applications. Mobile and embedded devices need to process richer media, and are getting smarter – understanding us, being more context-aware and having more natural user interfaces. ... The nature of these computations is different from the traditional computations where you need a precise answer."' What's interesting here is that this is how our brains work."
Accuracy isn't important anymore (Score:4, Insightful)
We're teaching our kids that 2+2 equals whatever they feel it is equal to, as long as they are happy. What do we need with accuracy anymore?
Re:Accuracy isn't important anymore (Score:2, Insightful)
Where the hell did you get that from? Oh yeah, its the talking points about the common core approach. Too bad that is nothing like what the common core says. Find a single place where any proponent of the common core said something like that and I'll show you a quote mine where they really said "it is understanding the process that is important, of which the final answer is just a small part because computation errors can be corrected."