A society that puts equality -- in the sense of equality of outcome -- ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests. -- Milton Friedman (Thomas Sowell: A Conflict of Visions, p130)
We control complexity by building abstractions that hide details when appropriate. We control complexity by establishing conventional interfaces that enable us to construct systems by combining standard, well-understood pieces in a ``mix and match'' way. We control complexity by establishing new languages for describing a design, each of which emphasizes particular aspects of the design and deemphasizes others. -- Alan J. Perlis
Windows NT addresses 2 Gigabytes of RAM, which is more than any application will ever need. -- Microsoft, on the development of Windows NT, 1992
A guideline in the process of stepwise refinement should be the principle to decompose decisions as much as possible, to untangle aspects which are only seemingly interdependent, and to defer those decisions which concern details of representation as long as possible. -- Niklaus Wirth
It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration. -- Edsger Dijkstra
It is said that the real winner is the one who lives in today but able to see tomorrow. -- Juan Meng, Reviewing "The future of ideas" by Lawrence Lessig
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. ~Dale Carnegie
The number one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family, and neighbors. ~Napoleon Hill
To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~Anonymous
Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice. ~Wayne Dyer