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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.

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
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Algorithms
Science
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Patents
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Contributions
Better
Seek
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Computer
Tendency
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Programming
Making
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Decry

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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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I've never been a good estimator of how long things are going to take.
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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 have a hunch that the unknown sequences of DNA will decode into copyright notices and patent protections.
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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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Everyday life is like programming, I guess. If you love something you can put beauty into it.
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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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It is much more rewarding to do more with less.
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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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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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The psychological profiling [of a programmer] is mostly the ability to shift levels of abstraction, from low level to high level. To see something in the small and to see something in the large.
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Programming is legitimate and necessary academic endeavour.
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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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The best theory is inspired by practice.
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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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An algorithm must be seen to be believed.
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Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind.
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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 can’t go to a restaurant and order food because I keep looking at the fonts on the menu.
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