I think it is wise, and only honest, to warn you that my goal is immodest. It is not my purpose to "transfer knowledge" to you that, subsequently, you can forget again. My purpose is no less than to effectuate in each of you a noticeable, irreversable change. I want you to gain, for the rest of your lives, the insight that beautiful proofs are not "found" by trial anf error but are the result of a consciously applied design discipline. I want you to raise your quality standards. I mean, if 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and say to yourself "Dijkstra would not have liked this", well, that would be enough immortality for me. -- E. W. Dijkstra
The problem is that small examples fail to convince, and large examples are too big to follow. -- Steve Yegge.
For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. -- Aristotle.
You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. -- Dr. Seuss
A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God. -- Alan J. Perlis (Epigrams in programming)
The venerable master Qc Na was walking with his student, Anton. Hoping to prompt the master into a discussion, Anton said "Master, I have heard that objects are a very good thing - is this true?" Qc Na looked pityingly at his student and replied, "Foolish pupil - objects are merely a poor man's closures." Chastised, Anton took his leave from his master and returned to his cell, intent on studying closures. He carefully read the entire "Lambda: The Ultimate..." series of papers and its cousins, and implemented a small Scheme interpreter with a closure-based object system. He learned much, and looked forward to informing his master of his progress. On his next walk with Qc Na, Anton attempted to impress his master by saying "Master, I have diligently studied the matter, and now understand that objects are truly a poor man's closures." Qc Na responded by hitting Anton with his stick, saying "When will you learn? Closures are a poor man's object." At that moment, Anton became enlightened. -- Anton van Straaten (Na = Norman Adams, Qa = Christian Queinnec)
Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. –Joshua J. Marine
Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. ~Winston Churchill
You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. ~Margaret Thatcher
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson