Originally Posted by
etudiant
Before everyone gets side tracked on fixing hugely unlikely problems such as 5 bits flipping exactly wrong,
If you re-read the Seattle Times article, you'll notice that it is
only 2 bits flipping that are required for enacting the scenario.
Five bits have been actually flipped because this is the standard procedure for this category of tests ; flipping what is considered the most extreme and improbable data corruption : 5 bits simultaneously.