Alan Kay Quotes

“I don't know how many of you have ever met Dijkstra, but you probably know that arrogance in computer science is measured in nano-Dijkstras.”

“I don't know how many of you have ever met Dijkstra, but you probably know that arrogance in computer science is measured in nano-Dijkstras.”

“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.”

“Mathematicians are like managers - they want improvement without change.”

“Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.”

“Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.”

“The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.”

“Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a factor that decides between success and failure.”

“It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.”

“Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.”

“Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better.”