To our dismay, users who had been enduring several hour waits between jobs run under batch processing were suddenly restless when response times were more than a second.

The general problem with ambitious systems is complexity. [...] it is important to emphasize the value of simplicity and elegance, for complexity has a way of compounding difficulties.

The number of lines of code a programmer can write in a fixed period of time is the same independent of the language used.

My definition of elegance is the achievement of a given functionality with a minimum of mechanism and a maximum of clarity.

Because one has to be an optimist to begin an ambitious project, it is not surprising that underestimation of completion time is the norm.

The use of the high level language made each programmer a factor of 5 to 10 more productive in a coding sense and more concerned with the semantics than the syntax of modules.

Design bugs are often subtle and occur by evolution with early assumptions being forgotten as new features or uses are added to systems.

Regardless of whether one is dealing with assembly language or compiler language, the number of debugged lines of source code per day is about the same!

The most fragile, unhappy people destine themselves to live lives of constantly reminding themselves to be happy.

There is no correct path. We pave our own roads. Don't be afraid to find your own way. ...I hate to see people hung up on "what they're supposed to do". Decide for yourself. There is no other way

I think you always have, you know, new players. Every year you see new faces, juniors coming into the seniors. I was one of them at the time long time ago now.

I had size 12 feet when I was 10, so I thought I was going to be 6 8. My goal was to be able to dunk a basket. I wound up being 6 1 with size 14 feet. I got the raw end of the deal.

The fact is that you can't do everything that you have to do. You have to procrastinate on something. Therefore, procrastinate on small tasks.

Well, The Dirty Dozen was like a vacation.

Find the best writers, pay them to write, and avoid typos at all costs.

Some truce," Daniel said, "Eighteen days of others trying to kill her.

There is a remedy for everything but death; who, in spite of our teeth, will take us in his clutches.

It only takes a little innovation.