Maple's numerical equation solver does have some powerful features, available to any user equipped with persistance sufficient to battle through thickets of inconsistent user interface in order to access them. While aware of all this, my jaw still dropped at this latest specimen of machine intelligence: savour at leisure! fsolve({x^2 + y^2 = 1}, {x, y}); Error, (in fsolve) number of equations, 1, does not match number of variables, 2 [ The machine can count to two. Let us attempt to hoodwink it ... ] fsolve({x^2 + y^2 = 1, (x^2 + y^2)^2 = 1^2}, {x, y}); fsolve({(x^2+y^2)^2 = 1, x^2+y^2 = 1}, {x, y}) [ Sometimes it just repeats (a subtly re-interpreted version of) the input when it can't find a solution. Or instead returns a null result, and too bad if the user program guesses wrong. Whatever, we were evidently not devious enough ... ] fsolve({x^2 + y^2 = 1, x^4 + 2*x^2*y^2 + y^4 = 1}, {x, y}); {x = 0.9882233619, y = -0.1530182571} [ Wonderful --- so it could find an approximate numerical solution after all! Then why not just bl00dy well get on with the job first off, instead of wasting user time and temper with all the previous bullshit? ] Fred Lunnon