Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning. – Edsger Dijkstra
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
Why has elegance found so little following? That is the reality of it. Elegance has the disadvantage, if thats what it is, that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. – Edsger Dijkstra
Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a factor that decides between success and failure. – Edsger Dijkstra
There is a drowsy state, between sleeping and waking, when you dream more in five minutes with your eyes half open, and yourself half conscious of everything that is passing around you, than you would in five nights with your eyes fast closed and your senses wrapt in perfect unconsciousness. – Charles Dickens