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There’s an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the “Aha.”

Alan Kay

The result is – document destruction – we’re really not going to be able to prove beyond a truth the negatives and some of the positive conclusions that we’re going to come to.
ALAN KAY

Able Beyond Come Conclusion Destruction Document Negative Positive Prove Result
A computer scientist is a machine for converting coffee into urine.
ALAN KAY

Coffee Computer Convert Machine Scientist Urine
So I had read maybe 150 books by the time I hit 1st grade. And I already knew that the teachers were lying to me.
ALAN KAY

Already Amybe Book Grade Lie Read Teacher Time
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
Bad criticism drives good criticism out of circulation. You just can’t criticize anything.
ALAN KAY

Anything Bad Criticism Good Out
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
The real romance is out ahead and yet to come. The computer revolution hasn’t started yet.
ALAN KAY

Ahead Come Out Real Romance Yet
It is not a tool, although it can act like many tools. It is the first metamedium, and as such it has degrees of freedom for representation and expression never before encountered and as yet barely investigated.
ALAN KAY

Bare Degree Encourage First Freedom Investigation Metamedium Representation Tool
When the Mac first came out, Newsweek asked me what I [thought] of it. I said: Well, it’s the first personal computer worth criticizing.
ALAN KAY

Ask Came Computer Criticizing First Mac Newsweek Out Personal Thought
We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it.
ALAN KAY

Future Invent IT Predict
They don’t like the idea of having different points of view.
ALAN KAY

Different Ide Like Point View
When was the last time a technology with a scale like that was so error-free?
ALAN KAY

Error Free Last Scale Technology Time
Understanding- -like civilization, happiness, music, science and a host of other great endeavors–is not a state of being, but a manner of traveling.
ALAN KAY

Civilization Endeavour Host Manner Science Stae Traveling Understanding
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
The biggest problem we have as human beings is that we confuse our beliefs with reality.
ALAN KAY

Being Belief Bigots Confide Human Problem Reality
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

There’s an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the “Aha.”

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There’s an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the “Aha.”

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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