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)
I'm not a feminist, but I believe in equal opportunity.
We need to get rid of the idea that there's only one way to do things.
I often say that I'm a professional troublemaker. I'm always looking for ways to shake things up.
The computer is a tool, not a god.
We're all born with a certain amount of curiosity. The problem is, it gets educated out of us.
I'm not a computer scientist. I'm a mathematician who happens to work with computers.
If you want to do something, do it. Don't wait for permission.
The only thing worse than a bad program is a good program that's never used.
I'm not interested in preserving the status quo. I'm interested in changing it.
I don't believe in 'can't'.
The only way to learn is by doing.
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
The only true security is the ability to adapt to change.
The only way to get rid of a problem is to solve it.
I'm not a leader. I'm a facilitator.
I'm not a guru. I'm a guide.
The only way to get ahead is to keep moving forward.
I'm not a perfectionist. I'm a realist.
The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.
I'm not a dreamer. I'm a doer.
Contemporaries of Grace Murray Hopper
Other Computer Sciences born within 50 years of Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992).