The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should therefore be regarded as a criminal offense. -- E.W. Dijkstra
Let me try to get this straight: Lisp is a language for describing algorithms. This was JohnMcCarthy's original purpose, anyway: to build something more convenient than a Turing machine. Lisp is not about file, socket or GUI programming - Lisp is about expressive power. (For example, you can design multiple object systems for Lisp, in Lisp. Or implement the now-fashionable AOP. Or do arbitrary transformations on parsed source code.) If you don't value expressive power, Lisp ain't for you. I, personally, would prefer Lisp to not become mainstream: this would necessarily involve a dumbing down. -- VladimirSlepnev
The direct pursuit of happiness is a recipe for an unhappy life. -- Donald Campbell
A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing. -- Alan Perlis
[How friendly will this machine be?] Well, I don’t think it’s a matter of friendliness, because ultimately if the program is going to accomplish anything of value, it will probably be relatively complex. -- Gary Kildall (inventor of CP/M, one of the first OS for the micro).
One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that–lacking zero–they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs. -- Robert Firth
If you are not willing to risk the usual you will have to settle for the ordinary. ~Jim Rohn
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone. ~Pablo Picasso
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. –Dalai Lama
Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. ~Theodore N. Vail