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Donald Knuth Quotes

Premature optimization is the root of all evil Picture Quote #1

I remember that mathematicians were telling me in the 1960s that they would recognize computer science as a mature discipline when it had 1,000 deep algorithms. I think we’ve probably reached 500 Picture Quote #1

I currently use Ubuntu Linux, on a standalone laptop - it has no Internet connection. I occasionally carry flash memory drives between this machine and the Macs that I use for network surfing and graphics; but I trust my family jewels only to Linux Picture Quote #1

Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration Picture Quote #1

The psychological profiling [of a programmer] is mostly the ability to shift levels of abstraction, from low level to high level. To see something in the small and to see something in the large Picture Quote #1

My general working style is to write everything first with pencil and paper, sitting beside a big wastebasket. Then I use Emacs to enter the text into my machine Picture Quote #1

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People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on eachother, like a wall of mini stones Picture Quote #1

I decry the current tendency to seek patents on algorithms. There are better ways to earn a living than to prevent other people from making use of one’s contributions to computer science Picture Quote #1

I can’t be as confident about computer science as I can about biology. Biology easily has 500 years of exciting problems to work on. It’s at that level Picture Quote #1

A list is only as strong as its weakest link Picture Quote #1

Trees sprout up just about everywhere in computer science Picture Quote #1

Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute Picture Quote #1

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Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random Picture Quote #1

Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind Picture Quote #1

It is much more rewarding to do more with less Picture Quote #1

The best practice is inspired by theory Picture Quote #1

The designer of a new kind of system must participate fully in the implementation Picture Quote #1

If you optimize everything, you will always be unhappy Picture Quote #1

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An algorithm must be seen to be believed Picture Quote #1

Any inaccuracies in this index may be explained by the fact that it has been prepared with the help of a computer Picture Quote #1

My first program taught me a lot about the errors that I was going to be making in the future, and also about how to find errors. That’s sort of the story of my life, making errors and trying to recover from them. I try to get things correct. I probably obsess about not making too many mistakes Picture Quote #1

Always remember, however, that there’s usually a simpler and better way to do something than the first way that pops into your head Picture Quote #1

... methods are more important than facts. The educational value of a problem given to a student depends mostly on how often the thought processes that are invoked to solve it will be helpful in later situations. It has little to do with how useful the answer to the problem may be. On the other hand, a good problem must also motivate the students; they should be interested in seeing the answer. Since students differ so greatly, I cannot expect everyone to like the problems that please me Picture Quote #1

When you write a program, think of it primarily as a work of literature. You’re trying to write something that human beings are going to read. Don’t think of it primarily as something a computer is going to follow. The more effective you are at making your program readable, the more effective it’s going to be: You’ll understand it today, you’ll understand it next week, and your successors who are going to maintain and modify it will understand it Picture Quote #1

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I’ve never been a good estimator of how long things are going to take Picture Quote #1

Programming is the art of telling another human being what one wants the computer to do Picture Quote #1

I can’t be as confident about computer science as I can about biology. Biology easily has 500 years of exciting problems to work on. It’s at that level Picture Quote #1

The psychological profiling is mostly the ability to shift levels of abstraction, from low level to high level. To see something in the small and to see something in the large Picture Quote #1

Any inaccuracies in this index may be explained by the fact that it has been sorted with the help of a computer Picture Quote #1

The most important thing in the programming language is the name. A language will not succeed without a good name. I have recently invented a very good name and now I am looking for a suitable language Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Premature optimization is the root of all evil (Donald Knuth Quotes) I remember that mathematicians were telling me in the 1960s that they would recognize computer science as a mature discipline when it had 1,000 deep algorithms. I think we’ve probably reached 500. (Donald Knuth Quotes) I currently use Ubuntu Linux, on a standalone laptop - it has no Internet connection. I occasionally carry flash memory drives between this machine and the Macs that I use for network surfing and graphics; but I trust my family jewels only to Linux (Donald Knuth Quotes) Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration (Donald Knuth Quotes) The psychological profiling [of a programmer] is mostly the ability to shift levels of abstraction, from low level to high level. To see something in the small and to see something in the large (Donald Knuth Quotes) My general working style is to write everything first with pencil and paper, sitting beside a big wastebasket. Then I use Emacs to enter the text into my machine (Donald Knuth Quotes) People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on eachother, like a wall of mini stones. (Donald Knuth Quotes) I decry the current tendency to seek patents on algorithms. There are better ways to earn a living than to prevent other people from making use of one’s contributions to computer science. (Donald Knuth Quotes) I can’t be as confident about computer science as I can about biology. Biology easily has 500 years of exciting problems to work on. It’s at that level. (Donald Knuth Quotes) A list is only as strong as its weakest link (Donald Knuth Quotes) Trees sprout up just about everywhere in computer science (Donald Knuth Quotes) Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute (Donald Knuth Quotes) Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random (Donald Knuth Quotes) Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind (Donald Knuth Quotes) It is much more rewarding to do more with less (Donald Knuth Quotes) The best practice is inspired by theory (Donald Knuth Quotes) The designer of a new kind of system must participate fully in the implementation (Donald Knuth Quotes) If you optimize everything, you will always be unhappy (Donald Knuth Quotes) An algorithm must be seen to be believed (Donald Knuth Quotes) Any inaccuracies in this index may be explained by the fact that it has been prepared with the help of a computer (Donald Knuth Quotes) My first program taught me a lot about the errors that I was going to be making in the future, and also about how to find errors. That’s sort of the story of my life, making errors and trying to recover from them. I try to get things correct. I probably obsess about not making too many mistakes (Donald Knuth Quotes) Always remember, however, that there’s usually a simpler and better way to do something than the first way that pops into your head (Donald Knuth Quotes) ... methods are more important than facts. The educational value of a problem given to a student depends mostly on how often the thought processes that are invoked to solve it will be helpful in later situations. It has little to do with how useful the answer to the problem may be. On the other hand, a good problem must also motivate the students; they should be interested in seeing the answer. Since students differ so greatly, I cannot expect everyone to like the problems that please me (Donald Knuth Quotes) When you write a program, think of it primarily as a work of literature. You’re trying to write something that human beings are going to read. Don’t think of it primarily as something a computer is going to follow. The more effective you are at making your program readable, the more effective it’s going to be: You’ll understand it today, you’ll understand it next week, and your successors who are going to maintain and modify it will understand it (Donald Knuth Quotes) I’ve never been a good estimator of how long things are going to take (Donald Knuth Quotes) Programming is the art of telling another human being what one wants the computer to do (Donald Knuth Quotes) I can’t be as confident about computer science as I can about biology. Biology easily has 500 years of exciting problems to work on. It’s at that level (Donald Knuth Quotes) The psychological profiling is mostly the ability to shift levels of abstraction, from low level to high level. To see something in the small and to see something in the large (Donald Knuth Quotes) Any inaccuracies in this index may be explained by the fact that it has been sorted with the help of a computer (Donald Knuth Quotes) The most important thing in the programming language is the name. A language will not succeed without a good name. I have recently invented a very good name and now I am looking for a suitable language (Donald Knuth Quotes)

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