The manuals we got from IBM would show examples of programs and I knew I could do a heck of a lot better than that. So I thought I might have some talent.

Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random

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.

I remember that mathematicians were telling me in the 1960s that they would recognize computer science as a mature discipline when it had 1,000 deep algorithms. I think we've probably reached 500.

I define UNIX as 30 definitions of regular expressions living under one roof.

Meta-design is much more difficult than design; it's easier to draw something than to explain how to draw it.

The most important thing in the programming language is the name. A language will not succeed without a good name. I have recently invented a very good name and now I am looking for a suitable language.