quotes.vemod.net

"Therefore we expect future generations of Lisp programmers to continue to reinvent Algol-style..."

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:09:25 +0200

“Therefore we expect future generations of Lisp programmers to continue to reinvent Algol-style syntax for Lisp, over and over and over again, and we are equally confident that they will continue, after an initial period of infatuation, to reject it. (Perhaps this process should be regarded as a rite of passage for Lisp hackers.)”

- Steele and Gabriel, “The Evolution of Lisp”

"I don’t read fiction. I find it a waste of time. There are so many amazing things that are..."

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:15:38 +0200

“I don’t read fiction. I find it a waste of time. There are so many amazing things that are real; I don’t need to spend any time on a made-up story.”

- Jason Fried (source)

"Lisp is ugly. Will always be. If you care, you’re just not ready yet."

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:01:29 +0200

“Lisp is ugly. Will always be. If you care, you’re just not ready yet.”

- Manuel Simoni (The Axis Of Eval: That Ragged Old Lisp)

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:42:00 +0200

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

- Thomas Edison

"This is why so many of the best programmers are libertarians. In our world, you sink or swim, and..."

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:57:28 +0200

“This is why so many of the best programmers are libertarians. In our world, you sink or swim, and there are no excuses. When those far removed from the creation of wealth— undergraduates, reporters, politicians— hear that the richest 5% of the people have half the total wealth, they tend to think injustice! An experienced programmer would be more likely to think is that all? The top 5% of programmers probably write 99% of the good software.”

- Paul Graham - How to Make Wealth

"Question: How does a large software project get to be one year late?Answer: One day at a time!..."

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:17:09 +0200

“Question: How does a large software project get to be one year late?
Answer: One day at a time! Incremental slippages on many fronts eventually accumulate to produce a large overall delay.”

- Fred Brooks

"Lisp has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible..."

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:48:34 +0200

“Lisp has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.”

- Edsger W. Dijkstra

"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is."

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:29:13 +0200

“In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.”

- Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut

Gordon Bell: The cheapest, fastest and most reliable components of a computer system are those that aren't there.

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:45:25 +0200

Gordon Bell: The cheapest, fastest and most reliable components of a computer system are those that aren't there.
Jon Bentley: Those missing components are also the most accurate (they never make mistakes), the most secure (they can't be broken into), and the easiest to design, document, test and maintain.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people..."

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:56:25 +0200

“Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.”

- John Stuart Mill

"I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy..."

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:55:03 +0200

“I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.”

- John Stuart Mill

"[On Newspeak’s FFI]: It’s gonna be called CSlick and the L is optional."

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:38:46 +0200

“[On Newspeak’s FFI]: It’s gonna be called CSlick and the L is optional.”

- Gilad Bracha

"Man isn’t a noble savage, he’s an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly,..."

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:27:18 +0200

“Man isn’t a noble savage, he’s an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved — that about sums it up. I’m interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it’s a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure.”

- Stanley Kubrick

"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems"

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:02:20 +0200

“A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems”

- Paul Erdös (source)

"Look into any carpenter’s tool-bag and see how many different hammers, chisels, planes and..."

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:27:55 +0200

“Look into any carpenter’s tool-bag and see how many different hammers, chisels, planes and screw-drivers he keeps there - not for ostentation or luxury, but for different sorts of jobs.”

- Robert Graves and Alan Hodges (found in Room 101: A Nest of Classes)

"Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re..."

Tue, 04 May 2010 22:39:50 +0200

“Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations. You have to pay attention to money, but it shouldn’t be about the money.”

- Tim O’Reilly (via Daring Fireball)

"There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things."

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:42:44 +0200

“There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things.”

- Phil Karlton

"This is direct proof that existence has no real value in itself; for what is boredom but the feeling..."

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:00:26 +0100

“This is direct proof that existence has no real value in itself; for what is boredom but the feeling of the emptiness of life? If life—the craving for which is the very essence of our being—were possessed of any positive intrinsic value, there would be no such thing as boredom at all: mere existence would satisfy us in itself, and we should want for nothing. But as it is, we take no delight in existence except when we are struggling for something; and then distance and difficulties to be overcome make our goal look as though it would satisfy us—an illusion which vanishes when we reach it; or else when we are occupied with some purely intellectual interest—when in reality we have stepped forth from life to look upon it from the outside, much after the manner of spectators at a play.”

- Schopenhauer (via Nonicoclolasos)

"Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows..."

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:03:22 +0100

“Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live.”

- John F. Woods

"The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike; all..."

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:57:28 +0100

“The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Earth are set apart. If you want the truth to stand clearly before you, never be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind’s worst disease.”

- Zen master Sent-ts’an