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I made up the term “object-oriented,” and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind.

Alan Kay

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
In computers, every ‘new explosion’ was set off by a software product that allowed users to program differently.
ALAN KAY

Allow Computer Differently Explosion Off Product Program Set Software Under
There will be always unresolved ambiguity here.
ALAN KAY

Always Ambiguity
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
Change is easy, except for the changed part.
ALAN KAY

Change Easy Except Part
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
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
So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world.
ALAN KAY

Eight End Five Inch iPhone Presentation ule World
[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
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
Art also has this element. Our job is to remind us that there are more contexts than the one that we’re in – the one that we think is reality.
ALAN KAY

Context Element Job More One Really Remind Think
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
Yazılım konusunda iddialı insanlar kendi donanımlarını yapmalılar.
ALAN KAY

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

Book Couple Got Hundred School Time
They don’t like the idea of having different points of view, so it was a battle.
ALAN KAY

Battle Different Idea Point View
A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points. Perspective is worth 80 IQ points. Point of view is worth 80 IQ points
ALAN KAY

Change Eighty Perspective Point Worth
Having an intelligent secretary does not get rid of the need to read, write, and draw, etc.
ALAN KAY

Draw Have Intelligent Need Read Rid Secretary Write
That language was Joss, which predated Basic and was beautiful.
ALAN KAY

Basic Beautiful Joss Language Predate
Java and C++ make you think that the new ideas are like the old ones.
ALAN KAY

Idea Java Make New Old One Think
They don’t like the idea of having different points of view.
ALAN KAY

Different Ide Like Point View
The idea that hardware on networks should just be caches for movable process descriptions and the processes themselves goes back quite a ways.
ALAN KAY

Back Catch Description Hardware Idea Movable Network Process Quiet
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 most disastrous thing that you can ever learn is your first programming language.
ALAN KAY

Disastrous Ever First Language Learn Most Program Thing
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
If the pros at Sun had had a chance to fix Java, the world would be a much more pleasant place.
ALAN KAY

Chance Fix Java More Much Place Pleasant Pros Sun World
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

I made up the term “object-oriented,” and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind.

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I made up the term “object-oriented,” and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind.

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Popular Authors

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