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But once the threshold is reached, then everyone demands to do whatever it is.

Alan Kay

By the time I got to school, I had already read a couple hundred books.
ALAN KAY

Book Couple Got Hundred School Time
School is basically about one point of view — the one the teacher has or the textbooks have.
ALAN KAY

Basic Battle One Point School Teacher Textbook View
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
Change is easy, except for the changed part.
ALAN KAY

Change Easy Except Part
Much of the debugging has to be done by others.
ALAN KAY

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

Along Element Especial Go Laughter Often Science Surprise
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
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
I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that I do, that most people do, are because they hate something somebody else has done, or they hate that something hasn’t been done.
ALAN KAY

Approach Done Hate Most People Realize Someone Something Usually
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
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
In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds.
ALAN KAY

Hard Nerd Society Soft
When was the last time a technology with a scale like that was so error-free?
ALAN KAY

Error Free Last Scale Technology Time
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 perfume part is important because it will help find the knowledge again to help get to the destinations the inner urges pick.
ALAN KAY

Destination Help Important Knowledge Perfume Pick Urge
People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.
ALAN KAY

Hardware Old People Really Serious Software

But once the threshold is reached, then everyone demands to do whatever it is.

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But once the threshold is reached, then everyone demands to do whatever it is.

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