How can you own numbers? Numbers belong to the world.
Interpretation
Ownership of abstract concepts like numbers is meaningless because they exist independently of individuals.
In this quote, Donald Knuth challenges the idea of ownership over numbers, which are fundamental concepts that belong to the collective understanding of humanity. By asserting that numbers belong to the world, he emphasizes the notion that certain ideas and truths are universal and not confined to private possession or individual control.
In practice
In a discussion about the ethics of data ownership in technology, this quote can highlight the collective nature of knowledge.
Computer programming is an art, because it applies accumulated knowledge to the world, because it requires skill and ingenuity, and especially because it produces objects of beauty. A programmer who subconsciously views himself as an artist will enjoy what he does and will do it better.
The hardest thing is to go to sleep at night, when there are so many urgent things needing to be done. A huge gap exists between what we know is possible with today's machines and what we have so far been able to finish.
An algorithm must be seen to be believed.
The process of preparing programs for a digital computer is especially attractive, not only because it can economically and scientifically rewarding, but also because it can be an aesthetic experience much like composing poetry or music.
People who are more than casually interested in computers should have at least some idea of what the underlying hardware is like. Otherwise the programs they write will be pretty weird.
Everyday life is like programming, I guess. If you love something you can put beauty into it.
I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.
Que sçais-je?" (What do I know?)
In the meantime, I would drink, rest, and ponder the meaning of this mob.
Cities are never random. No matter how chaotic they might seem, everything about them grows out of a need to solve a problem. In fact, a city is nothing more than a solution to a problem, that in turn creates more problems that need more solutions, until towers rise, roads widen, bridges are built, and millions of people are caught up in a mad race to feed the problem-solving, problem-creating frenzy.
In today's highly interdependent world, individuals and nations can no longer resolve many of their problems by themselves. We need one another. It is our collective and individual responsibility to protect and nurture the global family, to support its weaker members, and to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.
For tyme ylost may nought recovered be.
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