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We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%

Donald Knuth

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Donald Knuth
Age: 86
Born: 1938
Born: January 10
Academic
Computer Scientist
Engineer
Historian Of Mathematics
Mathematician
Programmer
University Teacher
Writer
Milwaukee City
Wisconsin
Donald E. Knuth
Don Knuth
Donald Ervin Knuth
D.E.K.
DEK
Knuth
Time
Opportunities
Critical
Pass
Efficiencies
Roots
Optimization
Small
Debugging
Forget
Premature
Evil
Efficiency
Opportunity
Root

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I remember that mathematicians were telling me in the 1960s that they would recognize computer science as a mature discipline when it had 1,000 deep algorithms. I think we've probably reached 500.
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In fact, my main conclusion after spending ten years of my life working on the TEX project is that software is hard. It's harder than anything else I've ever had to do.
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Science is knowledge which we understand so well that we can teach it to a computer and if we don't fully understand something, it is an art to deal with it.
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Meta-design is much more difficult than design it's easier to draw something than to explain how to draw it.
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I think people who write programs do have at least a glimmer of extra insight into the nature of God... because creating a program often means that you have to create a small universe
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Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random
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By understanding a machine-oriented language, the programmer will tend to use a much more efficient method it is much closer to reality.
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The designer of a new kind of system must participate fully in the implementation.
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The sun comes up just about as often as it goes down, in the long run, but this doesn't make its motion random.
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If you find that you're spending almost all your time on theory, start turning some attention to practical things it will improve your theories. If you find that you're spending almost all your time on practice, start turning some attention to theoretical things it will improve your practice.
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Programming is legitimate and necessary academic endeavour.
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The most important thing in the programming language is the name. A language will not succeed without a good name. I have recently invented a very good name and now I am looking for a suitable language.
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We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil.
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I have a hunch that the unknown sequences of DNA will decode into copyright notices and patent protections.
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Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind.
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I currently use Ubuntu Linux, on a standalone laptop - it has no Internet connection. I occasionally carry flash memory drives between this machine and the Macs that I use for network surfing and graphics but I trust my family jewels only to Linux.
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The best practice is inspired by theory.
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I'm obsessively detail-oriented.
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The manuals we got from IBM would show examples of programs and I knew I could do a heck of a lot better than that. So I thought I might have some talent.
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Let us change our traditional attitude to the construction of programs. Instead of imagining that our main task is to instruct a computer what to do, let us concentrate rather on explaining to human beings what we want a computer to do.
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