We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.

Yes, I share your concern: how to program well -though a teachable topic- is hardly taught. The situation is similar to that in mathematics, where the explicit curriculum is confined to mathematical results; how to do mathematics is something the student must absorb by osmosis, so to speak. One reason for preferring symbol-manipulating, calculating arguments is that their design is much better teachable than the design of verbal/pictorial arguments. Large-scale introduction of courses on such calculational methodology, however, would encounter unsurmoutable political problems.

The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.

The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim.

Experience does by no means automatically leads to wisdom and understanding.

The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.

The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense.