Alan Perlis

A computer scientist; best known for his pioneering work in programming languages.

1. Both knowledge and wisdom extend man's reach.
   Knowledge led to computers; wisdom, to chopsticks.

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2. 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.

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3. It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.

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5. Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones.

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6. Around computers, it is difficult to find the correct unit of time to measure progress.
   Some cathedrals took a century to complete. Can you imagine the grandeur and scope of a program that would take as long?

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7. Don't have good ideas if you aren't willing to be responsible for them.

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8. Fools ignore complexity.
   Pragmatists suffer it.
   Some can avoid it.
   Geniuses remove it.

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9. Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.

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