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)
The most important thing is to keep on learning.
I always say that if you want to do something, go ahead and do it. Don't wait for someone to tell you to do it.
The biggest problem is not the computer, it's the people.
I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard worker.
It's better to be a pirate than to join the navy.
We're not going to solve the problems of the world by doing the same things we've always done.
I'm a great believer in the power of the human mind.
The only way to predict the future is to create it.
I'm not a feminist. I'm a woman who happens to be in a man's world.
The most important thing is to keep moving forward.
I'm not a visionary. I'm a pragmatist.
The only way to learn is to do.
I'm not a conformist. I'm an individualist.
The most important thing is to have fun.
I'm not a politician. I'm a scientist.
The only way to get ahead is to work hard.
I'm not a philosopher. I'm a doer.
The most important thing is to be yourself.
I'm not a teacher. I'm a learner.
The only way to make a difference is to take action.
Contemporaries of Grace Murray Hopper
Other Computer Sciences born within 50 years of Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992).