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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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Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else we do.
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A list is only as strong as its weakest link.
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People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on each other, like a wall of mini stones.
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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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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'm obsessively detail-oriented.
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An algorithm must be seen to be believed.
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My general working style is to write everything first with pencil and paper, sitting beside a big wastebasket. Then I use Emacs to enter the text into my machine.
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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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AI has by now succeeded in doing essentially everything that requires 'thinking' but has failed to do most of what people and animals do 'without thinking'-that, somehow, is much harder.
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I decry the current tendency to seek patents on algorithms. There are better ways to earn a living than to prevent other people from making use of one's contributions to computer science.
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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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Beware of bugs in the above code I have only proved it correct, not tried it.
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I try to learn certain areas of computer science exhaustively then I try to digest that knowledge into a form that is accessible to people who don't have time for such study.
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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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Everyday life is like programming, I guess. If you love something you can put beauty into it.
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I can’t go to a restaurant and order food because I keep looking at the fonts on the menu.
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A mathematical formula should never be owned by anybody! Mathematics belong to God.
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The best practice is inspired by theory.
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Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random
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