When you actually sit down to write some code, you learn things that you didn't get from thinking about them in modeling terms...there is a feedback process there that you can only really get at from executing some things and seeing what works

A pattern is an idea that has been useful in one practical context and will probably be useful in others.

I've learned to always avoid saying "always"

I can only think of so many good ideas in a week. Having other people contribute makes my life easier.

Why is composing symphonies tough? I don't know. It's just very few people in the world can do it well. And I think that's the case with upfront design. It is very hard to do well.

Comparing to another activity is useful if it helps you formulate questions, it's dangerous when you use it to justify answers.

Never in the annals of software engineering was so much owed by so many to so few lines of code