It has always seemed to me extreme presumptuousness on the part of those who want to make human ability the read more

It has always seemed to me extreme presumptuousness on the part of those who want to make human ability the measure of what nature can and knows how to do, since, when one comes down to it, there is not one effect in nature, no matter how small, that even the most speculative minds can fully understand. -Galileo Galilei.

The facts of the present won't sit still for a portrait. They are constantly vibrating, full of clutter and confusion.

The facts of the present won't sit still for a portrait. They are constantly vibrating, full of clutter and confusion.

It's very good for an idea to be commonplace. The important thing is that a new idea should develop out read more

It's very good for an idea to be commonplace. The important thing is that a new idea should develop out of what is already there so that it soon becomes an old acquaintance. Old acquaintances aren't by any means always welcome, but at least one can't be mistaken as to who or what they are.

To him that watches, everything is revealed.

To him that watches, everything is revealed.

...there is no prescribed route to follow to arrive at a new idea. You have to make the intuitive leap. read more

...there is no prescribed route to follow to arrive at a new idea. You have to make the intuitive leap. But the difference is that once you've made the intuitive leap you have to justify it by filling in the intermediate steps. In my case, it often happens that I have an idea, but then I try to fill in the intermediate steps and find that they don't work, so I have to give it up.

Gates is the ultimate programming machine. He believes everything can be defined, examined, reduced to essentials, and rearranged into a read more

Gates is the ultimate programming machine. He believes everything can be defined, examined, reduced to essentials, and rearranged into a logical sequence that will achieve a particular goal.

About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain read more

About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt axe. It is equally vain to try to do it with ten blunt axes instead.

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one read more

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.

The observation of others is coloured by our inability to observe ourselves impartially. We can never be impartial about anything read more

The observation of others is coloured by our inability to observe ourselves impartially. We can never be impartial about anything until we can be impartial about our own organism.