black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Perl is another example of filling a tiny, short-term need, and then being a real problem in the longer term.

Alan Kay

Basic would never have surfaced because there was always a language better than Basic for that purpose.
ALAN KAY

Always Basic Better Language Purpose Surface
People are willing to pay you if you’re any good at all, and you have plenty of time for screwing around.
ALAN KAY

Anything Else Fabulous People Place Where Will
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
Every technology really needs to be shipped with a special manual – not how to use it but why, when, and for what.
ALAN KAY

Every Technology How Manual Need Ship Special Use
If you’re not failing 90% of the time, then you’re probably not working on sufficiently challenging problems.
ALAN KAY

Challenge Fall Probably Problem Sufficient Time Work
Bad User on Device is a medium that can dynamically simulate the details of any other medium, including media that cannot exist physically.
ALAN KAY

Any Bad Detail Device Dynamical Medium Other Simulate User
I’ve heard complaints from even mighty Stanford University with its illustrious faculty that basically the undergraduate computer science program is little more than Java certification.
ALAN KAY

Certification Complain Heard Illustrious Java Program Science Undergraduate University
If we value the lifelong learning of arts and letters as a springboard for personal and societal growth, should any less effort be spent to make computing a part of our lives?
ALAN KAY

Growth Learn Letter Makem Live Personal Societal Spent Springboard Value
Any medium powerful enough to extend man’s reach is powerful enough to topple his world.
ALAN KAY

Enough Extend Man Medium Powerful Reach Topple World
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
By the time I got to school, I had already read a couple hundred books.
ALAN KAY

Book Couple Got Hundred School Time
This tends to result in very dumbed-down products that are easy to get started on, but are generally worthless and/or debilitating.
ALAN KAY

Debilitation Dumb Easy General Product Result Tend Worthless
The soft nerds are the ones who get violently ill whenever anybody mentions an integral sign.
ALAN KAY

Anybody Integral Mention Nerd One Sign Soft Violent
Technology is anything invented after you were born, everything else is just stuff.
ALAN KAY

After Anything Born Invent Technology
I fear – as far as I can tell – that most undergraduate degrees in computer science these days are basically Java vocational training.
ALAN KAY

Basically Computer Degree Far Fear Java Most Science Tell Training Undergraduate Vocational
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
ALAN KAY

Best Future Invent Predict Way
Because the web has produced so much uninformed criticism. It’s kind of a Gresham’s Law-bad money drives the good money out of circulation.
ALAN KAY

Circulation Good Kind Money Out Produce Uniform
And I realized that informed criticism has completely been done in by the web.
ALAN KAY

Been Completely Criticise Done Inform Realize
There is the desire of a consumer society to have no learning curves.
ALAN KAY

Consumer Curve Desire Learn Society
The future is not laid out on a track. It is something that we can decide.
ALAN KAY

Decide Future Laid Out Something Track
Lisp isn’t a language, it’s a building material.
ALAN KAY

Buil Language Lips Material
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
Most creativity is a transition from one context into another where things are more surprising.
ALAN KAY

Another Context Creativity Most Mst Surprise Thing Transition
Television should be the last mass communication medium to be naively designed and put into the world without a surgeon-general’s warning.
ALAN KAY

Amass Communication General Last Medium Naive Surgeon Television Warning World
Technology is anything that wasn’t around when you were born.
ALAN KAY

Anything Around Born Technology
[Computing] is just a fabulous place for that, because it’s a place where you don’t have to be a Ph.D. or anything else. It’s a place where you can still be an artisan.
ALAN KAY

Anything Artisan Computer Else Fabulous Just Place
Artificial intelligence is what we don’t know how to do yet
ALAN KAY

Artificial Don't Know Intelligence Yet

Perl is another example of filling a tiny, short-term need, and then being a real problem in the longer term.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Perl is another example of filling a tiny, short-term need, and then being a real problem in the longer term.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Alan Kay Quotes