Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
Edsger DijkstraRead
LISP has jokingly been described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer." I think that description is a great compliment because it transmits the full flavour of liberation: it has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
Interpretation
The quote appreciates LISP as a powerful tool for creative thinking despite its unconventional use.
Edsger Dijkstra humorously highlights LISP's unique capability to inspire innovative thought, suggesting that its unconventional or seemingly misused applications can lead to profound insights. The quote celebrates the idea that true intelligence lies not only in the technical correctness but in the freedom of thought and creativity it enables.
In practice
In a tech conference speech discussing programming languages.
Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.
We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.
The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.
A most important, but also most elusive, aspect of any tool is its influence on the habits of those who train themselves in its use. If the tool is a programming language this influence is, whether we like it or not, an influence on our thinking habits.... A programming language is a tool that has profound influence on our thinking habits.
Everybody copied Atari products. So we started messing with them and it was fun. We bought enough chips that we could get them mislabeled. So we bankrupted at least two companies which copied our boards, and bought all the parts but they were the wrong parts, so they're sitting on all this inventory they can't sell because the games don't work.
Young people do not watch television; they are on the Internet.
People who say they don't see the acceleration of innovation is a wilful blindness. We are innovation at a wonderful speed for the basic things we think everyone should get.
Historically, privacy was almost implicit, because it was hard to find and gather information. But in the digital world, whether it's digital cameras or satellites or just what you click on, we need to have more explicit rules - not just for governments but for private companies.
Software companies should take more responsibility for security holes, especially in browsers and e-mail clients. There are some straightforward things the industry should be doing right now to fix things, and I don't know why they haven't been done yet.
With the cloud, you don't own anything. You already signed it away.
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