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Edsger Dijkstra (Computer Scientist)

Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.

— Edsger Dijkstra science

The competent programmer is fully aware of the limited size of his own skull. He therefore approaches his task with full humility, and avoids clever tricks like the plague.

— Edsger Dijkstra war

There should be no such thing as boring mathematics.

— Edsger Dijkstra mathematics

Object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could only have originated in California.

— Edsger Dijkstra bad

The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.

— Edsger Dijkstra think

Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a factor that decides between success and failure.

— Edsger Dijkstra success

It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.

— Edsger Dijkstra hope

Aim for brevity while avoiding jargon.

— Edsger Dijkstra

The traditional mathematician recognizes and appreciates mathematical elegance when he sees it. I propose to go one step further, and to consider elegance an essential ingredient of mathematics: if it is clumsy, it is not mathematics.

— Edsger Dijkstra mathematics

Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.

— Edsger Dijkstra learning

Teaching to unsuspecting youngsters the effective use of formal methods is one of the joys of life because it is so extremely rewarding.

— Edsger Dijkstra life

If 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and say to yourself: 'Dijkstra would not have liked this', well that would be enough immortality for me.

— Edsger Dijkstra self

The ability of discerning high quality unavoidably implies the ability of identifying shortcomings.

— Edsger Dijkstra lies

Many mathematicians derive part of their self-esteem by feeling themselves the proud heirs of a long tradition of rational thinking; I am afraid they idealize their cultural ancestors.

— Edsger Dijkstra art

I mentioned the non-competitive spirit explicitly, because these days, excellence is a fashionable concept. But excellence is a competitive notion, and that is not what we are heading for: we are heading for perfection.

— Edsger Dijkstra men

Don't compete with me: firstly, I have more experience, and secondly, I have chosen the weapons.

— Edsger Dijkstra experience

The students that, like the wild animal being prepared for its tricks in the circus called 'life', expects only training as sketched above, will be severely disappointed: by his standards he will learn next to nothing.

— Edsger Dijkstra life

Mathematicians are like managers - they want improvement without change.

— Edsger Dijkstra change

The lurking suspicion that something could be simplified is the world's richest source of rewarding challenges.

— Edsger Dijkstra war

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