Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

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.

It will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It read more

It will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven.

The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come read more

The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents.

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who read more

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.

By the time (the Leaning Tower of Pisa) was 10% built, everyone knew it would be a total disaster. But read more

By the time (the Leaning Tower of Pisa) was 10% built, everyone knew it would be a total disaster. But the investment was so big they felt compelled to go on. Since its completion, it cost a fortune to maintain and is still in danger of collapsing. There are no plans to replace it, since it was never needed in the first place. I expect every installation has its own pet software which is analogous to the above.

Live TV died in the late 1950s, electronic bulletin boards came along in the mid-1980s, meaning there was about a read more

Live TV died in the late 1950s, electronic bulletin boards came along in the mid-1980s, meaning there was about a 25-year gap when it was difficult to put your foot in your mouth and have people all across the country know about it.

Scientists are the easiest to fool. They think in straight, predictable, directable, and therefore misdirectable, lines. The only world they read more

Scientists are the easiest to fool. They think in straight, predictable, directable, and therefore misdirectable, lines. The only world they know is the one where everything has a logical explanation and things are what they appear to be. Children and conjurors - they terrify me. Scientists are no problem; against them I feel quite confident. -James P. Hogan.