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A computer scientist is a machine for converting coffee into urine.

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
Java is the most distressing thing to hit computing since MS-DOS.
ALAN KAY

Compute Distress Dos Hit Java Microsoft Most Since Thing
Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves.
ALAN KAY

Brick Brute Country Force Million Most Much Pyramid Slave Software Thousand Today Very
There is the desire of a consumer society to have no learning curves.
ALAN KAY

Consumer Curve Desire Learn Society
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
But once the threshold is reached, then everyone demands to do whatever it is.
ALAN KAY

Demand Everyone Once Reach Threshold
As far as Apple goes, it was a different company every few years from the time I joined in 1984.
ALAN KAY

Apple As Company Different Every Few Go Join
In a well functioning world, tools and agents are complementary.
ALAN KAY

Agent Complementary Function World Tool Well
There’s a real sense in which MS and Apple never understood networking or operating systems (or what objects really are).
ALAN KAY

Apple Microsoft Network Object Operate System Real Sense Understood
We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it.
ALAN KAY

Future Invent IT Predict
The only way you can predict the future is to build it.
ALAN KAY

Build Future IT Only Predict Way
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
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
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
They don’t like the idea of having different points of view, so it was a battle.
ALAN KAY

Battle Different Idea Point 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

A computer scientist is a machine for converting coffee into urine.

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A computer scientist is a machine for converting coffee into urine.

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