Grace Murray Hopper
A pioneer in computer programming, she developed the first compiler and co-developed COBOL.
Most quoted
"I had a very good friend who said, 'I don't know how you can stand to work with computers, they're so impersonal.' I told her, 'It's the people I work with who are impersonal; the computers are very cooperative.'"
— from Attributed
"We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question."
— from Speech, 1982
"In pioneer days they used oxen for heavy pulling, and when one ox couldn't budge a log, they didn't try to grow a larger ox. We shouldn't be trying for bigger computers, but for more systems of computers."
— from Speech, 1981
All quotes by Grace Murray Hopper (302)
If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.
The most dangerous phrase in the language is, 'We've always done it this way.'
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things.
It is much easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.
The only phrase I've ever heard that is more dangerous than 'We've always done it this way' is 'The computer will do it.'
I've always been more interested in the future than in the past.
One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.
To me, programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge.
We're all human beings, and we're all going to make mistakes. The difference is that some of us learn from them and some of us don't.
Go and do. Don't wait for permission.
The greatest danger for us is not to try.
I often say that I'm a little bit like a burr under the saddle. I just keep on going.
I'm not afraid to try new things. I'm not afraid to fail.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
I'm not a pessimist. I'm an optimist who carries a raincoat.
We're not going to get anywhere unless we learn to communicate with each other.
The computer is a tool, not a master.
I've been accused of being a maverick. I'm not a maverick. I just do what I think is right.
The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.
I'm a great believer in the power of the individual.
Contemporaries of Grace Murray Hopper
Other Computer Sciences born within 50 years of Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992).