Saying that Java is nice because it works on all OSes is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders. -- Alanna

What do Americans look for in a car? I've heard many answers when I've asked this question. The answers include excellent safety ratings, great gas mileage, handling, and cornering ability, among others. I don't believe any of these. That's because the first principle of the Culture Code is that the only effective way to understand what people truly mean is to ignore what they say. This is not to suggest that people intentionally lie or misrepresent themselves. What it means is that, when asked direct questions about their interests and preferences, people tend to give answers they believe the questioner wants to hear. Again, this is not because they intend to mislead. It is because people respond to these questions with their cortexes, the parts of their brains that control intelligence rather than emotion or instinct. They ponder a question, they process a question, and when they deliver an answer, it is the product of deliberation. They believe they are telling the truth. A lie detector would confirm this. In most cases, however, they aren't saying what they mean. -- The culture code.

Dealing with failure is easy: Work hard to improve. Success is also easy to handle: You've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to improve. -- Alan J. Perlis (Epigrams in programmi ng)

All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection. -- Butler Lampson

Lisp programmers know the value of everything but the cost of nothing. -- Alan J. Perlis

Its a shame that the students of our generation grew up with windows and mice because that tainted our mindset not to think in terms of powerful tools. Some of us are just so tainted that we will never recover. -- Jeffrey Mark Siskind in comp.lang.lisp

Opportunities don’t happen, you create them. ~Chris Grosser

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. ~Margaret Thatcher

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice. ~Wayne Dyer

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. ~Herman Melville