Good work is no done by ‘humble’ men. -- H. Hardy, A mathematician's apology.
Some people suggest that machines would be friendlier if input could be in a natural language. But natural language is probably the worst kind of input because it can be quite ambiguous. The process of retrieving information from the computer would be so time-consuming that you would be better off spending that time getting the information directly from an expert. -- Gary Kildall (inventor of CP/M, one of the first OS for the micro).
Getting back to failing early, I've learned it's important to completely fail. Get fired. Shoot the project, then burn its corpse. Melt the CVS repository and microwave the backup CDs. When things go wrong, I've often tried to play the hero from start to finish. Guess what? Some projects are doomed no matter what. Some need skills I don't possess. And some need a fresh face. -- Reginald Braithwaite
Software is like sex: It’s better when it’s free. -- Linus Torvalds
We now come to the decisive step of mathematical abstraction: we forget about what the symbols stand for. ...[The mathematician] need not be idle; there are many operations which he may carry out with these symbols, without ever having to look at the things they stand for. -- Hermann Weyl, The Mathematical Way of Thinking
- If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change. - Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. - A prime candidate for natural deselection. -- [Ideas for flamewars]
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~Thomas A. Edison
Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. ~Anonymous
Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life. ~Dr. APJ Kalam
Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. –Henry Ford