Donald Knuth

Let us change our traditional attitude by learning to love the 'goto' statement, rather than to hate it.

The best way to prepare for the future is to invent it.

A good algorithm is like a good recipe: it tells you exactly what to do, step by step, to achieve a desired result.

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

The process of preparing programs for a digital computer is especially attractive, not only because it can be economically and scientifically rewarding, but also because it can be an aesthetic experience much like composing poetry or music.

The best programs are written so that the computer can understand them, but also so that humans can understand them.

If you optimize everything, you will always be unhappy.

I find that a good program is like a good piece of music, or a good poem, or a good painting. It has a certain elegance, a certain beauty, a certain harmony.

The most important property of a program is whether it accomplishes the intentions of its user.

The purpose of computation is insight, not numbers.

A program is a work of art, and it should be treated as such.

The greatest joy in programming is the joy of creation.

My life is a constant struggle between my desire to write beautiful code and my desire to write useful code.

The most important thing in life is to find something you love to do, and then do it with all your heart.

I believe that the purpose of education is not to fill a mind, but to open one.

The greatest joy in programming is the moment when a complex problem finally yields to a simple solution.

I often feel like a detective, searching for clues in the vast wilderness of algorithms.

Truth is not found in the absence of error, but in the relentless pursuit of it.

The beauty of mathematics lies in its ability to reveal the hidden order of the universe.

I am a firm believer that the best way to learn is by doing, and the best way to teach is by inspiring.