"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."
— Donald Knuth
"Programming is the art of telling another human being what one wants the computer to do."
— Donald Knuth
"Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind."
— Donald Knuth
"If you find that you're spending almost all your time on theory, start turning some attention to practical things; it will improve your theories. If you find that you're spending almost all your time on practice, start turning some attention to theoretical things; it will improve your practice."
— Donald Knuth
"Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute."
— Donald Knuth
"An algorithm must be seen to be believed."
— Donald Knuth
"AI has by now succeeded in doing essentially everything that requires 'thinking' but has failed to do most of what people and animals do 'without thinking'-that, somehow, is much harder."
— Donald Knuth
"Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration."
— Donald Knuth
"Programmers waste enormous amounts of time thinking about, or worrying about, the speed of noncritical parts of their programs, and these attempts at efficiency actually have a strong negative impact when debugging and maintenance are considered. We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%."
— Donald Knuth
"Always remember, however, that there’s usually a simpler and better way to do something than the first way that pops into your head."
— Donald Knuth
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
— Donald Knuth