The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. -- Arthur C. Clarke

That is one of the most distinctive differences between school and the real world: there is no reward for putting in a good effort. In fact, the whole concept of a "good effort" is a fake idea adults invented to encourage kids. It is not found in nature. -- Paul Graham

Processors don't get better so that they can have more free time. Processors get better so _you_ can have more free time. -- LeCamarade (freeshells.ch)

Humans aren't rational -- they rationalize. And I don't just mean "some of them" or "other people". I'm talking about everyone. We have a "logic engine" in our brains, but for the most part, it's not the one in the driver's seat -- instead it operates after the fact, generating rationalizations and excuses for our behavior. -- Paul Buchheit

Being a programmer is the same way. The only way to be a good programmer is to write code. When you realize you haven't been writing much code lately, and it seems like all you do is brag about code you wrote in the past, and people start looking at you funny while you're shooting your mouth off, realize it's because they know. They might not even know they know, but they know. So, yes, doing what you love brings success, and by all means, throw yourself a nice big party, buy yourself a nice car, soak up the adulation of an adoring crowd. Then shut the fuck up and get back to work. -- Sincerity Theory

So - what are the most important problems in software engineering? I’d answer “dealing with complexity”. -- Mark Chu-Carroll

You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction. ~George Lorimer

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. – Albert Einstein

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. ~John D. Rockefeller

The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success. ~Bruce Feirstein