I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.

Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.

The original question, 'Can machines think?' I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion.

A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine.

No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain.

Up to a point, it is better to just let the snags [bugs] be there than to spend such time in design that there are none.

Bell Labs Cafeteria, New York, 1943: His high pitched voice already stood out above the general murmur of well-behaved junior executives grooming themselves for promotion within the Bell corporation. Then he was suddenly heard to say: "No, I'm not interested in developing a powerful brain. All I'm after is just a mediocre brain, something like the President of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company."