No art, however minor, demands less than total dedication if you want to excel in it. -- Alberti

Simplicity takes effort-- genius, even. -- Paul Graham

This challenge, viz. the confrontation with the programming task, is so unique that this novel experience can teach us a lot about ourselves. It should deepen our understanding of the processes of design and creation, it should give us better control over the task of organizing our thoughts. If it did not do so, to my taste we should no deserve the computer at all! It has allready taught us a few lessons, and the one I have chosen to stress in this talk is the following. We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremenduous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsec limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers. -- E. W. Dijkstra, The humble programmer

J'ai toujours préféré la folie des passions à la sagesse de l'indifférence. -- Anatole France

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

Mistakes were made. -- Ronald Reagan

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. –Ayn Rand

Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions. –Dalai Lama

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success. ~Swami Vivekananda

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson