The only phrase I've ever disliked is, 'Why, we've always done it that way.' I always tell young people, 'Go ahead and do it. You can always apologize later.'
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"The only way to learn a new language is to try to program in it."
"I am now going to make you a gift that will stay with you the rest of your life. For the rest of your life, every time you say, 'We've always done it that way,' my ghost will appear and haunt you for …"
"The future belongs to those who are willing to take risks."
"Why do you sit there and ask me questions? Why don't you get up and do something?"
"The only constant in the computer industry is change."
Advice to young people, combining her aversion to complacency with her pragmatic approach to innovation.
Date: Unknown
GeneralFound in 1 providers: gemini
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This expression champions bold action over institutional inertia — the habit of maintaining practices simply because they're familiar. Rather than seeking permission from gatekeepers resistant to change, it urges people to move forward and deal with consequences later. The underlying logic: a successful outcome justifies the disruption, and asking forgiveness is far easier than battling bureaucratic resistance upfront. Innovation requires the willingness to act before consensus forms.
Hopper lived this principle. She built the first compiler in 1952 despite colleagues insisting machines couldn't process human-readable language. She drove COBOL's creation over institutional resistance, and as one of the first female admirals, constantly overcame 'we don't do it that way' gatekeeping in the Navy. She's literally credited with popularizing 'easier to ask forgiveness than permission' — this quote is essentially her defining personal philosophy.
Hopper worked from the 1940s through the 1980s, when computing was being invented inside massive hierarchical institutions — the military, universities, and corporations — that prized procedure over innovation. Women in computing faced additional 'that's not how we do it' barriers. The field was moving faster than bureaucracies could adapt, making her anti-traditionalism essential. Her era's rigid structures made defying convention not just productive but necessary for real technological progress.
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