Quotes by Alan Perlis

“11: If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some.”

“16: Every program has (at least) two purposes: the one for which it was written and another for which it wasn't.”

“19: A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing.”

“31: Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.”

“39: A picture is worth 10K words - but only those to describe the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described with pictures.”

“41: Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand progress.”

“42: You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.”

“55: LISP programmers know the value of everything and the cost of nothing.”

“57: It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.”

“58: Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.”

“59: In English every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our programming languages.”

“64: Often it is means that justify ends: Goals advance technique and technique survives even when goal structures crumble.”

“75: The computing field is always in need of new cliches: Banality sooths our nerves.”

“79: A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.”

“80: Prolonged contact with the computer turns mathematicians into clerks and vice versa.”

“95: Don't have good ideas if you aren't willing to be responsible for them.”

“101 Dealing with failure is easy: Work hard to improve. Success is also easy to handle: You've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to improve.”

“116: You think you know when you learn, are more sure when you can write, even more when you can teach, but certain when you can program.”

“117: It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there to making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and, le...”