Fate laughs at probabilities.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1832
***
Computer science is not about machines, in the same way that astronomy is not about
telescopes.
—Michael R. Fellows, 1991
12
Computer science is neither mathematics nor electrical engineering.
—Alan Perlis, 1968
Computer science […] is not actually a science.
—Richard Feynman, 1970
Any discipline with the word ‘science’ in its name, such as social sciences, creation science,
or computer science, is not a science.
—Anonymous
13
Perhaps the central problem we face in all of computer science is how we are to get to the
situation where we build on top of the work of others rather than redoing so much of it in a
trivially different way.
—Richard Hamming, 1968
Software engineering is that part of computer science which is too difficult for computer
scientists.
—Friedrich L. Bauer, 1971
***
The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way the atoms are put
together.
—Carl Sagan, 1990
Biology […] is the science that stands at the center of all science.
—George Gaylord Simpson, 1964
Seen in the light of evolution, biology is, perhaps, intellectually the most satisfying and
inspiring science.
—Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1972
Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of
whatever choices offer. We are products of editing, rather than of authorship.
—George Wald, 1957
12
Possibly based on an earlier (circa 1986) but longer line by Hal Abelson. A close paraphrase of
this maxim is frequently misattributed to Edsger W. Dijkstra.
13
This popular remark is attributed to various scientists, most plausibly to Hal Abelson and Frank
Harary, but I could not find a reliable confirmation of either authorship.
46
On Sciences and Technologies
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1832
***
Computer science is not about machines, in the same way that astronomy is not about
telescopes.
—Michael R. Fellows, 1991
12
Computer science is neither mathematics nor electrical engineering.
—Alan Perlis, 1968
Computer science […] is not actually a science.
—Richard Feynman, 1970
Any discipline with the word ‘science’ in its name, such as social sciences, creation science,
or computer science, is not a science.
—Anonymous
13
Perhaps the central problem we face in all of computer science is how we are to get to the
situation where we build on top of the work of others rather than redoing so much of it in a
trivially different way.
—Richard Hamming, 1968
Software engineering is that part of computer science which is too difficult for computer
scientists.
—Friedrich L. Bauer, 1971
***
The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way the atoms are put
together.
—Carl Sagan, 1990
Biology […] is the science that stands at the center of all science.
—George Gaylord Simpson, 1964
Seen in the light of evolution, biology is, perhaps, intellectually the most satisfying and
inspiring science.
—Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1972
Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of
whatever choices offer. We are products of editing, rather than of authorship.
—George Wald, 1957
12
Possibly based on an earlier (circa 1986) but longer line by Hal Abelson. A close paraphrase of
this maxim is frequently misattributed to Edsger W. Dijkstra.
13
This popular remark is attributed to various scientists, most plausibly to Hal Abelson and Frank
Harary, but I could not find a reliable confirmation of either authorship.
46
On Sciences and Technologies