To solve an interesting problem, start by finding a problem that is interesting to you.

Prototype, then polish. Get it working before you optimize it

With enough eyes, all bugs are shallow.

Of course, C proved indispensible to the developers of all its alternatives. Dig down through enough implementation layers under any of the other languages surveyed here and you will find a core implemented in pure, portable C

Any tool should be useful in the expected way, but a truly great tool lends itself to uses you never expected.

I believe, but cannot prove, that global “AIDS” is a whole cluster of unrelated diseases all of which have been swept under a single rug for essentially political reasons, and that the identification of HIV as the sole pathogen is likely to go down as one of the most colossal blunders in the history of medicine.

If you have the right attitude, interesting problems will find you.