Wisdom & Inspiration

Less is more.

Less is more.

Real Artists Ship.

Real Artists Ship.

Better is the enemy of best.

Better is the enemy of best.

Art is a passion or it is nothing.

Art is a passion or it is nothing.

He not busy being born is busy dying.

He not busy being born is busy dying.

Good artists copy, great artists steal.

Good artists copy, great artists steal.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

To live outside the law you must be honest.

To live outside the law you must be honest.

Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.

Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.

It's better to be a pirate than join the Navy.

Make it as simple as possible. But no simpler.

It's better to be a pirate than join the Navy.

Make it as simple as possible. But no simpler.

The physicist's greatest tool is his wastebasket.

The physicist's greatest tool is his wastebasket.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

Systems programmers are high priests of a low cult.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

Systems programmers are high priests of a low cult.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.

If everything is under control, you're going too slow.

The details are not the details. They make the design.

If everything is under control, you're going too slow.

The details are not the details. They make the design.

It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction.

Great software requires a fanatical devotion to beauty.

It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction.

Great software requires a fanatical devotion to beauty.

Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.

Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.

The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet.

The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet.

Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.

Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.

Simple things should be simple. Complex things should be possible.

Simple things should be simple. Complex things should be possible.

There's only one rule in user interface design: Make the user happy.

Hell, there are no rules here, we're trying to accomplish something.

There's only one rule in user interface design: Make the user happy.

Hell, there are no rules here, we're trying to accomplish something.

History is always written wrong, and so always needs to be rewritten.

History is always written wrong, and so always needs to be rewritten.

People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.

People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.

To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?

To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?

The secret of success is to do as much as possible with as little as possible.

The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the abililty to gratify it.

The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the abililty to gratify it.

Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence!

I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.

I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.

He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't. This is an inexorable, indisputable law.

He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't. This is an inexorable, indisputable law.

Technique alone is never enough. You have to have passion. Technique alone is just an embroidered pot holder.

Technique alone is never enough. You have to have passion. Technique alone is just an embroidered pot holder.

Expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then try to bring those things into what you are doing.

Expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then try to bring those things into what you are doing.

The noun of self becomes a verb. This flashpoint of creation in the present moment is where work and play merge.

The noun of self becomes a verb. This flashpoint of creation in the present moment is where work and play merge.

Form follows function, that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.

Form follows function, that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.

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

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.

An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.

A designer knows that he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

A designer knows that he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

As your setup gets more complex, it gets more fragile. Things are more likely to break and slow you down. Same rule applies to code and most of life really.

When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

It's always necessary to seek for perfection. Obviously, for us, this word no longer has the same meaning. To me, it means: from one canvas to the next, always go further, further...

It's always necessary to seek for perfection. Obviously, for us, this word no longer has the same meaning. To me, it means: from one canvas to the next, always go further, further...

The creation of art is not the fulfillment of a need but the creation of a need. The world never needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until he created it. Now we could not live without it.

The creation of art is not the fulfillment of a need but the creation of a need. The world never needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until he created it. Now we could not live without it.

There are two ways of constructing a software design: one way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult.

There are two ways of constructing a software design: one way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult.

Raise your quality standards as high as you can live with, avoid wasting your time on routine problems, and always try to work as closely as possible at the boundary of your abilities. Do this, because it is the only way of discovering how that boundary should be moved forward.