More computing sins are committed in the name of efficiency (without
necessarily achieving it) than for any other single reason - including
blind stupidity.
-- W.A. Wulf
It was Edison who said ‘1% inspiration, 99% perspiration’. That may have
been true a hundred years ago. These days it's ‘0.01% inspiration,
99.99% perspiration’, and the inspiration is the easy part.
-- Linux Torvalds
I think it is wise, and only honest, to warn you that my goal is
immodest. It is not my purpose to "transfer knowledge" to you that,
subsequently, you can forget again. My purpose is no less than to
effectuate in each of you a noticeable, irreversable change. I want you
to gain, for the rest of your lives, the insight that beautiful proofs
are not "found" by trial anf error but are the result of a consciously
applied design discipline. I want you to raise your quality standards. I
mean, if 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and
dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and
say to yourself "Dijkstra would not have liked this", well, that would
be enough immortality for me.
-- E. W. Dijkstra
Humans aren't rational -- they rationalize. And I don't just mean "some
of them" or "other people". I'm talking about everyone. We have a "logic
engine" in our brains, but for the most part, it's not the one in the
driver's seat -- instead it operates after the fact, generating
rationalizations and excuses for our behavior.
-- Paul Buchheit
For complex systems, the compiler and development environment need to be
in the same language that its supporting. It's the only way to grow
code.
-- Alan Kay
We now come to the decisive step of mathematical abstraction: we forget
about what the symbols stand for. ...[The mathematician] need not be
idle; there are many operations which he may carry out with these
symbols, without ever having to look at the things they stand for.
-- Hermann Weyl, The Mathematical Way of Thinking
You think you know when you learn, are more sure when you can write,
even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.
-- Alan J. Perlis (Epigrams in programming)
Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its
victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under
robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The robber baron's
cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated;
but those who torment us for own good will torment us without end, for
they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
-- C.S. Lewis
Lisp has jokingly been called "the most intelligent way to misuse a
computer". I think that description is a great compliment because it
transmits the full flavor of liberation: it has assisted a number of our
most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
-- Edsger Dijkstra, CACM, 15:10
Einstein argued that there must be simplified explanations of nature,
because God is not capricious or arbitrary.
-- Frederick P. Brooks, No Sliver Bullet.
Mastering isn’t a survival instinct; it’s an urge to excel. Mastering is
one of the experiences that delineates us from animals. It is striving
to be more tomorrow than we are today; to perfectly pitch the ball over
home plate; to craft the perfect sentence in an article; to open the
oven and feel the warm, richly-scented cloud telling you dinner is going
to be absolutely extraordinary. We humans crave perfection, to be
masters of our domain, to distinguish ourselves by sheer skill and
prowess.
-- Joesgoals.com
For complex systems, the compiler and development environment need to be
in the same language that its supporting. It's the only way to grow
code.
-- Alan Kay
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the
necessary may speak.
-- Hans Hofmann
More computing sins are committed in the name of efficiency (without
necessarily achieving it) than for any other single reason - including
blind stupidity.
-- W.A. Wulf
It was Edison who said ‘1% inspiration, 99% perspiration’. That may have
been true a hundred years ago. These days it's ‘0.01% inspiration,
99.99% perspiration’, and the inspiration is the easy part.
-- Linux Torvalds
Omit needless words.
-- William Strunk, Jr. (The Elements of Style)
Windows NT addresses 2 Gigabytes of RAM, which is more than any
application will ever need.
-- Microsoft, on the development of Windows NT, 1992
Attitude is no substitute for competence.
-- Eric S. Raymond, How to become a hacker
The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he
wants to do it [Leadership].
-- Dwight D. Enseinhover.
Any code of your own that you haven’t looked at for six or more months
might as well have been written by someone else.
-- Eagleson’s Law
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
-- unknown
Only make new mistakes.
-- Phil Dourado
I think it is wise, and only honest, to warn you that my goal is
immodest. It is not my purpose to "transfer knowledge" to you that,
subsequently, you can forget again. My purpose is no less than to
effectuate in each of you a noticeable, irreversable change. I want you
to gain, for the rest of your lives, the insight that beautiful proofs
are not "found" by trial anf error but are the result of a consciously
applied design discipline. I want you to raise your quality standards. I
mean, if 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and
dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and
say to yourself "Dijkstra would not have liked this", well, that would
be enough immortality for me.
-- E. W. Dijkstra
Simplicity and pragmatism beat complexity and theory any day.
-- Dennis (blog comment)
Mistakes were made.
-- Ronald Reagan
Humans aren't rational -- they rationalize. And I don't just mean "some
of them" or "other people". I'm talking about everyone. We have a "logic
engine" in our brains, but for the most part, it's not the one in the
driver's seat -- instead it operates after the fact, generating
rationalizations and excuses for our behavior.
-- Paul Buchheit
For complex systems, the compiler and development environment need to be
in the same language that its supporting. It's the only way to grow
code.
-- Alan Kay
We now come to the decisive step of mathematical abstraction: we forget
about what the symbols stand for. ...[The mathematician] need not be
idle; there are many operations which he may carry out with these
symbols, without ever having to look at the things they stand for.
-- Hermann Weyl, The Mathematical Way of Thinking
You think you know when you learn, are more sure when you can write,
even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.
-- Alan J. Perlis (Epigrams in programming)
Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its
victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under
robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The robber baron's
cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated;
but those who torment us for own good will torment us without end, for
they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
-- C.S. Lewis
Ils ne sont pas forts parce qu'ils sont forts. Ils sont forts parce que
nous sommes faibles.
-- Ragala Khalid
Are you willing to wear your white belt?
-- George Leonard, Mastery.
First learn computer science and all the theory. Next develop a
programming style. Then forget all that and just hack.
-- George Carrette
Saying that Java is nice because it works on all OSes is like saying
that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
-- Alanna
Only make new mistakes.
-- Phil Dourado
The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in
five words: "I did not have time."
-- WestHost weekly newsletter 14 Feb 2003
Lisp has jokingly been called "the most intelligent way to misuse a
computer". I think that description is a great compliment because it
transmits the full flavor of liberation: it has assisted a number of our
most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
-- Edsger Dijkstra, CACM, 15:10
Einstein argued that there must be simplified explanations of nature,
because God is not capricious or arbitrary.
-- Frederick P. Brooks, No Sliver Bullet.
The choice of the university is mostly important for the piece of paper
you get at the end. The education you get depends on you.
-- Andreas Zwinkau
Should array indices start at 0 or 1? My compromise of 0.5 was rejected
without, I thought, proper consideration.
-- Stan Kelly-Bootle
Mastering isn’t a survival instinct; it’s an urge to excel. Mastering is
one of the experiences that delineates us from animals. It is striving
to be more tomorrow than we are today; to perfectly pitch the ball over
home plate; to craft the perfect sentence in an article; to open the
oven and feel the warm, richly-scented cloud telling you dinner is going
to be absolutely extraordinary. We humans crave perfection, to be
masters of our domain, to distinguish ourselves by sheer skill and
prowess.
-- Joesgoals.com
For complex systems, the compiler and development environment need to be
in the same language that its supporting. It's the only way to grow
code.
-- Alan Kay
It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
Act from reason, and failure makes you rethink and study harder.
Act from faith, and failure makes you blame someone and push harder.
-- Erik Naggum