Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any
more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert
painter.
-- Eric Raymond
It's like a condom; I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and
not have it.
-- some chick in Alien vs. Predator, when asked why she
always carries a gun
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
1 - Creativity and innovation always build on the past.
2 - The past always tries to control the creativity that builds on it.
3 - Free societies enable the future by limiting the past.
4 - Ours is less and less a free society.
-- Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture.
This challenge, viz. the confrontation with the programming task, is so
unique that this novel experience can teach us a lot about ourselves. It
should deepen our understanding of the processes of design and creation,
it should give us better control over the task of organizing our
thoughts. If it did not do so, to my taste we should no deserve the
computer at all! It has allready taught us a few lessons, and the one I
have chosen to stress in this talk is the following. We shall do a much
better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full
appreciation of its tremenduous difficulty, provided that we stick to
modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the
intrinsec limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very
Humble Programmers.
-- E. W. Dijkstra, The humble programmer
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
It is said that the real winner is the one who lives in today but able
to see tomorrow.
-- Juan Meng, Reviewing "The future of ideas" by Lawrence Lessig
[Innovation] comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t
get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking
about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you
can concentrate on the things that are really important.
-- Steve Jobs
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
The venerable master Qc Na was walking with his student, Anton. Hoping to
prompt the master into a discussion, Anton said "Master, I have heard that
objects are a very good thing - is this true?" Qc Na looked pityingly at
his student and replied, "Foolish pupil - objects are merely a poor man's
closures."
Chastised, Anton took his leave from his master and returned to his cell,
intent on studying closures. He carefully read the entire "Lambda: The
Ultimate..." series of papers and its cousins, and implemented a small
Scheme interpreter with a closure-based object system. He learned much, and
looked forward to informing his master of his progress.
On his next walk with Qc Na, Anton attempted to impress his master by
saying "Master, I have diligently studied the matter, and now understand
that objects are truly a poor man's closures." Qc Na responded by hitting
Anton with his stick, saying "When will you learn? Closures are a poor man's
object." At that moment, Anton became enlightened.
-- Anton van Straaten (Na = Norman Adams, Qa = Christian Queinnec)
You will never become a Great Programmer until you acknowledge that you
will always be a Terrible Programmer.
You will remain a Great Programmer for only as long as you acknowledge
that you are still a Terrible Programmer.
-- Marc (http://kickin-the-darkness.blogspot.com/)
Ecoute, crois en ton projet... Implique toi à fond... Trouve des aspects
innovants pour te distinguer des autres. Tu verras que tu te feras
remarquer très facilement...
-- Khaled Tangao
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from
religious conviction.
-- Blaise Pascal (attributed)
The good thing about reinventing the wheel is that you get a round one.
-- Douglas Crockford (Author of JSON and JsLint)
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not so
sure about the former.
-- Albert Einstein
Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any
more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert
painter.
-- Eric Raymond
The programmer must seek both perfection of part and adequacy of
collection.
-- Alan J. Perlis
Thus, programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally
for machines to execute.
-- Alan J. Perlis
It's like a condom; I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and
not have it.
-- some chick in Alien vs. Predator, when asked why she
always carries a gun
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
1 - Creativity and innovation always build on the past.
2 - The past always tries to control the creativity that builds on it.
3 - Free societies enable the future by limiting the past.
4 - Ours is less and less a free society.
-- Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture.
Good ideas are out there for anyone with the wit and the will to find
them.
-- Malcolm Gladwell, Who says big ideas are rare?
In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
-- David (Psalm 56:4)
C and Lisp stand at opposite ends of the spectrum; they're each great at
what the other one sucks at.
-- Steve Yegge, Tour de Babel.
This challenge, viz. the confrontation with the programming task, is so
unique that this novel experience can teach us a lot about ourselves. It
should deepen our understanding of the processes of design and creation,
it should give us better control over the task of organizing our
thoughts. If it did not do so, to my taste we should no deserve the
computer at all! It has allready taught us a few lessons, and the one I
have chosen to stress in this talk is the following. We shall do a much
better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full
appreciation of its tremenduous difficulty, provided that we stick to
modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the
intrinsec limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very
Humble Programmers.
-- E. W. Dijkstra, The humble programmer
Just like carpentry, measure twice cut once.
-- Super-sizing YouTube with Python (Mike Solomon, [email protected])
What is truth?
-- Pontius Pilate
Remember that you are humans in the first place and only after that
programmers.
-- Alexandru Vancea
Good work is no done by ‘humble’ men.
-- H. Hardy, A mathematician's apology.
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
It is said that the real winner is the one who lives in today but able
to see tomorrow.
-- Juan Meng, Reviewing "The future of ideas" by Lawrence Lessig
We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time:
premature optimization is the root of all evil.
-- Donald Knuth
Show, don't tell.
-- unknown
[Innovation] comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t
get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking
about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you
can concentrate on the things that are really important.
-- Steve Jobs
Every man prefers belief to the exercise of judgment.
-- Seneca
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they
were to success when they gave up.
-- Thomas Edison
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they
were to success when they gave up.
-- Thomas Edison
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
Some may say Ruby is a bad rip-off of Lisp or Smalltalk, and I admit
that. But it is nicer to ordinary people.
-- Matz, LL2
The venerable master Qc Na was walking with his student, Anton. Hoping to
prompt the master into a discussion, Anton said "Master, I have heard that
objects are a very good thing - is this true?" Qc Na looked pityingly at
his student and replied, "Foolish pupil - objects are merely a poor man's
closures."
Chastised, Anton took his leave from his master and returned to his cell,
intent on studying closures. He carefully read the entire "Lambda: The
Ultimate..." series of papers and its cousins, and implemented a small
Scheme interpreter with a closure-based object system. He learned much, and
looked forward to informing his master of his progress.
On his next walk with Qc Na, Anton attempted to impress his master by
saying "Master, I have diligently studied the matter, and now understand
that objects are truly a poor man's closures." Qc Na responded by hitting
Anton with his stick, saying "When will you learn? Closures are a poor man's
object." At that moment, Anton became enlightened.
-- Anton van Straaten (Na = Norman Adams, Qa = Christian Queinnec)
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.
-- Mario Andretti
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
You will never become a Great Programmer until you acknowledge that you
will always be a Terrible Programmer.
You will remain a Great Programmer for only as long as you acknowledge
that you are still a Terrible Programmer.
-- Marc (http://kickin-the-darkness.blogspot.com/)
Ecoute, crois en ton projet... Implique toi à fond... Trouve des aspects
innovants pour te distinguer des autres. Tu verras que tu te feras
remarquer très facilement...
-- Khaled Tangao