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We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it.

Alan Kay

The flip side of the coin was that even good programmers and language designers tended to do terrible extensions when they were in the heat of programming, because design is something that is best done slowly and carefully.
ALAN KAY

Best Careful Coin Designer Even Extension Flip Good Heat Language Programme Side Tend Terrible
I think the trick with knowledge is to “acquire it, and forget all except the perfume” – because it is noisy and sometimes drowns out one’s own “brain voices”.
ALAN KAY

Acquire All Except Forget Knowledge Perfume Think Trick
But Basic happened to be on a GE timesharing system that was done by Dartmouth, and when GE decided to franchise that, it started spreading Basic around just because it was there, not because it had any intrinsic merits whatsoever.
ALAN KAY

Around Basic Decide Done Franchise Happen Spread Timeshare
And I realized that informed criticism has completely been done in by the web.
ALAN KAY

Been Completely Criticise Done Inform Realize
Perl is another example of filling a tiny, short-term need, and then being a real problem in the longer term.
ALAN KAY

Another Example Fill Perl Tiny
I knew in the first grade that they were lying to me because I had already been exposed to other points of view.
ALAN KAY

Already Behaviour Expose First Grade Point Try View
The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at their belt; now they have calculators.
ALAN KAY

Belt Calculator Hard Nerd One Rule Slide Use
There will be always unresolved ambiguity here.
ALAN KAY

Always Ambiguity
In success there’s a tendency to keep on doing what you were doing.
ALAN KAY

Do Doing Kept Success Tendency
Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower.
ALAN KAY

Artificial Feel Inferior Intelligence Some People Worry
The Internet was done so well that most people think of it as a natural resource like the Pacific Ocean, rather than something that was man-made.
ALAN KAY

Internet Man Made Most Natural Ocean Pacific People Resource Something Think
Possibly the only real object-oriented system in working order. (About Internet)
ALAN KAY

Internet Object Only Order Oriented Possible Raed Subject System Work
Lisp isn’t a language, it’s a building material.
ALAN KAY

Buil Language Lips Material
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.
ALAN KAY

Arrogance Computer Ever Know Many Measure Met Nanao People Science
Java and C++ make you think that the new ideas are like the old ones.
ALAN KAY

Idea Java Make New Old One Think
And to the extent that we do not violate any known laws of the universe, we can probably make it work the way that we want to.
ALAN KAY

Extent Known Probably Universe Violate Way

We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it.

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We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it.

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