Radia Perlman
Often called the 'Mother of the Internet' for her invention of the Spanning Tree Protocol.
Most quoted
"We build systems that are incredibly complex, and then we're surprised when they fail. It's like building a house of cards and being surprised when it falls down."
— from Conference talk
"The Internet is a testament to the fact that if you give people enough rope, they'll hang themselves... and then complain about the rope."
— from Talk/Presentation
"The Spanning Tree Protocol is a testament to the fact that you can't always get what you want, but you can always get what you need."
— from Various interviews and talks
All quotes by Radia Perlman (341)
The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.
I invented the Spanning Tree Protocol, but I didn't invent the spanning tree. That was Euler.
My job is to make sure that when the network goes down, it's not my fault.
I'm not a fan of complexity. I'm a fan of things that work.
If you have a problem, and you try to solve it with a distributed system, now you have two problems.
I'm not a Luddite. I just think we should be careful about what we build.
The only thing worse than a bad protocol is a protocol that everyone thinks is good.
I'm not a fan of buzzwords. I'm a fan of clear communication.
If you want to understand how something works, try to break it.
I'm not a genius. I just work hard and I'm stubborn.
The biggest problem with the Internet is that it's full of people.
I'm not a fan of magic. I'm a fan of engineering.
If you want to make a system reliable, assume that everything will fail.
I'm not a prophet. I just see patterns.
The only thing constant in networking is change, and the constant complaining about change.
I'm not a fan of fads. I'm a fan of fundamentals.
If you want to build a better mousetrap, don't ask the mice what they want.
I'm not a guru. I'm just someone who's made a lot of mistakes.
The future of networking is more of the same, but faster and with more acronyms.
I'm not a fan of hype. I'm a fan of reality.
Contemporaries of Radia Perlman
Other Computer Sciences born within 50 years of Radia Perlman (1951).