Edsger Dijkstra Quotes

Dutch - Scientist | May 11, 1930 - August 6, 2002

Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.

Edsger Dijkstra

ScienceComputersComputer Science

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.

Edsger Dijkstra

SimplicityReliabilityPrerequisite

There should be no such thing as boring mathematics.

Edsger Dijkstra

MathematicsBoringShouldThing

Aim for brevity while avoiding jargon.

Edsger Dijkstra

AimBrevityAvoidingJargonWhile

Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics; the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians.

Edsger Dijkstra

MathematicsBetterProgrammingPure

Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a factor that decides between success and failure.

Edsger Dijkstra

SuccessFailureEleganceLuxury

The traditional mathematician recognizes and appreciates mathematical elegance when he sees it. I propose to go one step further, and to consider elegance an essential ingredient of mathematics: if it is clumsy, it is not mathematics.

Edsger Dijkstra

MathematicsStepEleganceGoClumsy

Mathematicians are like managers - they want improvement without change.

Edsger Dijkstra

ChangeImprovementWantWithoutLike

Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.

Edsger Dijkstra

LearningOneselfMuchPerfecting

The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.

Edsger Dijkstra

ComputersThinkInterestingQuestion

The ability of discerning high quality unavoidably implies the ability of identifying shortcomings.

Edsger Dijkstra

QualityAbilityHighShortcomings

It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.

Edsger Dijkstra

GoodHopeImpossiblePotentialTeach

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