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

Always remember, however, that there’s usually a simpler and better way to do something than the first way that pops into your head.

An algorithm must be seen to be believed.

I can’t go to a restaurant and order food because I keep looking at the fonts on the menu.

... the designer of a new system must not only be the implementor and the first large-scale user; the designer should also write the first user manual. ... If I had not participated fully in all these activities, literally hundreds of improvements would never have been made, because I would never have thought of them or perceived why they were important.

We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil.

It is much more rewarding to do more with less.