In fact what I would like to see is thousands of computer scientists let loose to do whatever they want. That's what really advances the field.

Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute.

I have a hunch that the unknown sequences of DNA will decode into copyright notices and patent protections.

My general working style is to write everything first with pencil and paper, sitting beside a big wastebasket. Then I use Emacs to enter the text into my machine.

The important thing, once you have enough to eat and a nice house, is what you can do for others, what you can contribute to the enterprise as a whole.

The whole thing that makes a mathematician’s life worthwhile is that he gets the grudging admiration of three or four colleagues.

By understanding a machine-oriented language, the programmer will tend to use a much more efficient method; it is much closer to reality.