Quote

There's ways to amuse yourself while doing things and thats how I look at efficency.

Donald Knuth

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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
Things
Amuse
Thats
Ways
Look
Looks
Way

More quotes by Donald Knuth

Image
I can’t go to a restaurant and order food because I keep looking at the fonts on the menu.
Donald Knuth
Image
It would be nice if we could design a virtual reality in Hyperbolic Space, and meet each other there.
Donald Knuth
Image
Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind.
Donald Knuth
Image
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.
Donald Knuth
Image
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
Donald Knuth
Image
A list is only as strong as its weakest link.
Donald Knuth
Image
The designer of a new kind of system must participate fully in the implementation.
Donald Knuth
Image
Beware of bugs in the above code I have only proved it correct, not tried it.
Donald Knuth
Image
The best theory is inspired by practice.
Donald Knuth
Image
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.
Donald Knuth
Image
My first program taught me a lot about the errors that I was going to be making in the future, and also about how to find errors. That's sort of the story of my life, making errors and trying to recover from them. I try to get things correct. I probably obsess about not making too many mistakes.
Donald Knuth
Image
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.
Donald Knuth
Image
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.
Donald Knuth
Image
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
Image
Computer programming is an art, because it applies accumulated knowledge to the world, because it requires skill and ingenuity, and especially because it produces objects of beauty. A programmer who subconsciously views himself as an artist will enjoy what he does and will do it better.
Donald Knuth
Image
The enjoyment of one's tools is an essential ingredient of successful work.
Donald Knuth
Image
Meta-design is much more difficult than design it's easier to draw something than to explain how to draw it.
Donald Knuth
Image
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.
Donald Knuth
Image
Everyday life is like programming, I guess. If you love something you can put beauty into it.
Donald Knuth
Image
By understanding a machine-oriented language, the programmer will tend to use a much more efficient method it is much closer to reality.
Donald Knuth