Description of problem:
I'm learning to use openscad and was working on the code similar to that pasted below. 
I had done around 10 to 20 edit / run operations ( without saving ). It was working and fell over on compiling a trivial edit.
The problem does not appear to be reproducible but it chrashed while comiling a modified programme on both occasions.
Openscad has crashed twice in around 20 sessions. The other time was on different code which was not recursive.
Not sure if its relevant but openscad only seems to use one core on a 6 core AMD chip.

Nothing else crashes like this and I regularly use
Firefox ( can run very slowly at times )
Thunderbird
Open Office 

code similar to that run when it crashed

// Lathe IXL leader 
// cross slide feed screw
// measured 9/04/14 J Willis
// drawing rounded up to the nearest 64th & converted to mm.

$fa = 1;
$fs = 0.1;

IXL_Leader_cross_slide_lead_screw = [
	[ 14.29, 82.55 ], 	// handle shaft
	[ 25.4,  6.35 ],		// front thrust face
	[ 19.84, 30.48 ],		// front bearing surface
 	[ 11.91, 12.7 ],		// drive gear shaft key not drawn
	[ 11.11, 1.27 ],		// circlip groove 
	[ 11.51, 24.13 ],		// shaft
	[ 11.51, 203.2 ],		// 7/16 x 1/10 RH acme thread
	[ 7.94,  25.4 ],		//	back bearing
	[ 6.35,  17.46 ]		// rear thread
	
];


module add_round_shaft_segment( segment_list, current_segment, last_segment ){
	// ****************************************
	//recursive function to stack cylinders described in a list along the z axis
	//parameters: the list as a matrix, current position, index of the last segment ( num segments -1 ) 
	//each vector of the form [diameter,  length]
	// *****************************************
	echo( current_segment, last_segment, segment_list[current_segment]);
	translate([0 , 0, -1 * segment_list[current_segment][1]]){
		cylinder( d = segment_list[current_segment][0], h = segment_list[current_segment][1] );
		if( current_segment < last_segment ){
			add_round_shaft_segment( segment_list, current_segment + 1, last_segment);
		}
	}	
}

rotate( [0, -90, 0] )
assign( last_segment = len(IXL_Leader_cross_slide_lead_screw ) -1 ){
	 add_round_shaft_segment( IXL_Leader_cross_slide_lead_screw, 0, last_segment );
};

Version-Release number of selected component:
openscad-2014.03-1.fc19

Additional info:
reporter:       libreport-2.2.1
backtrace_rating: 4
cmdline:        openscad
crash_function: Context::lookup_variable
executable:     /usr/bin/openscad
kernel:         3.13.11-100.fc19.x86_64
runlevel:       N 5
type:           CCpp
uid:            1000

Truncated backtrace:
Thread no. 1 (10 frames)
 #0 Context::lookup_variable at src/context.cc:105
 #3 Expression::evaluate at src/expr.cc:142
 #6 EvalContext::getArgValue at src/evalcontext.cc:21
 #7 ControlModule::instantiate at src/control.cc:267
 #8 Context::instantiate_module at src/context.cc:134
 #9 FileContext::instantiate_module at src/modcontext.cc:224
 #10 Context::instantiate_module at src/context.cc:134
 #12 ModuleInstantiation::evaluate at src/module.cc:142
 #13 LocalScope::instantiateChildren at src/localscope.cc:67
 #14 Module::instantiate at src/module.cc:196