In English every word can be verbed.
ALAN PERLISYou can measure a programmer’s perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.
More Alan Perlis Quotes
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Work hard to improve. Success is also easy to handle.
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I think that it’s extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing.
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In computing, the mean time to failure keeps getting shorter.
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In English every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our programming languages.
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Banality soothes our nerves.
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I hope the field of computer science never loses its sense of fun.
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Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones.
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When a professor insists computer science is X but not Y, have compassion for his graduate students.
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We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines.
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In programming, as in everything else, to be in error is to be reborn.
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The best book on programming for the layman is Alice in Wonderland, but that’s because it’s the best book on anything for the layman.
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If your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.
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If a listener nods his head when you’re explaining your program, wake him up.
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One man’s constant is another man’s variable.
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FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed – it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer.
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Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.
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You can measure a programmer’s perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.
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Computer Science is embarrassed by the computer.
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A language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.
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Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described with pictures.
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A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.
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I don’t think we are. I think we’re responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house.
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Are more sure when you can write, even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.
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Often it is the means that justify the ends: goals advance technique and technique survives even when goal structures crumble.
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Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand progress.
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Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.
ALAN PERLIS