--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Living by the wisdom of computer science…" description: "\"“Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn’t sound so bad after all. And unlike most advice, it’s backed up by proofs.”\" — Brian Christian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/brian-christian-10142_computer-science_living-by-the-wisdom-of-computer-science_1073709.jpg" --- # Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn’t sound so… ![“Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn’t sound so bad after all. And unlike most advice, it’s backed up by proofs.” quote by Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/brian-christian-10142_computer-science_living-by-the-wisdom-of-computer-science_1073709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/brian-christian-10142_computer-science_living-by-the-wisdom-of-computer-science_1073709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/brian-christian-10142_computer-science_living-by-the-wisdom-of-computer-science_1073709.jpg) > ““Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn’t sound so bad after all. And unlike most advice, it’s backed up by proofs.”” [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Applying computer science principles—logic, rigor, proof—offers reliable guidance for life decisions. **In simple terms:** Science provides proven advice. Key Takeaway Use logical reasoning and evidence in daily choices. Themes logic proof decision‑making technology Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - personal productivity - ethical dilemmas - problem solving Key Concepts algorithmic thinking critical thinking systems theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance logic with intuition? - When should you trust data over feeling? A Different Perspective Proofs may not capture emotional nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-science/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Without computers we will be stuck only proving theorems that have short proofs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-appel/without-computers-we-will-be-stuck-only-proving-theorems-that-have/) Kenneth Appel > [“One of the implicit principles of computer science, as odd as it may sound, is that computation is bad: the underlying directive of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/one-of-the-implicit-principles-of-computer-science-as-odd-as-it-may/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“Put broadly, the object of study in mathematics is truth; the object of study in computer science is complexity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/put-broadly-the-object-of-study-in-mathematics-is-truth-the-object-of/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“It’s fairly intuitive that never exploring is no way to live. But it’s also worth mentioning that never exploiting can be every bit as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/it-s-fairly-intuitive-that-never-exploring-is-no-way-to-live-but-it-s/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/computer-science-is-no-more-about-computers-than-astronomy-is-about/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [A number of people who are interested in computers in this lifetime programmed computers in Atlantis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-number-of-people-who-are-interested-in-computers-in-this-lifetime/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“I think that it’s extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-j-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer-2/) [Alan J. Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-j-perlis/) > [I went to Drexel University, majored in computer science. Drexel has a great program - they call it co-op - but its, like, mandatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gruber/i-went-to-drexel-university-majored-in-computer-science-drexel-has-a/) [John Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gruber/) > [I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-shopped-at-j-crew-in-high-school-i-studied-computer-science-i-was-a/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Mathematics does not grow through a monotonous increase of the number of indubitably established theorems but through the incessant improvement of guesses by speculation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/mathematics-does-not-grow-through-a-monotonous-increase-of-the-number/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [Proofs exist only in mathematics and logic, not in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoshi-kanazawa/proofs-exist-only-in-mathematics-and-logic-not-in-science/) [Satoshi Kanazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoshi-kanazawa/) > [All proofs inevitably lead to propositions which have no proof! All things are known because we want to believe in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/all-proofs-inevitably-lead-to-propositions-which-have-no-proof-all/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) ## More by Brian Christian > [“Though all Christians start a wedding invitation by solemnly declaring their marriage is due to special Divine arrangement, I, as a philosopher, would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/though-all-christians-start-a-wedding-invitation-by-solemnly/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“It’s fairly intuitive that never exploring is no way to live. But it’s also worth mentioning that never exploiting can be every bit as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/it-s-fairly-intuitive-that-never-exploring-is-no-way-to-live-but-it-s/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“Forrest Gander: "Maybe the best we can do is try to leave ourselves unprotected. To keep brushing off habits, how we see things and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/forrest-gander-maybe-the-best-we-can-do-is-try-to-leave-ourselves/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“We asked Shoup if his research allows him to optimize his own commute, through the Los Angeles traffic to his office at UCLA. Does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/we-asked-shoup-if-his-research-allows-him-to-optimize-his-own-commute/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“look no further than Peter A. Lawrence’s developmental biology text The Making of a Fly, which in April 2011 was selling for $23,698,655.93 (plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/look-no-further-than-peter-a-lawrence-s-developmental-biology-text/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“Though time management seems a problem as old as time itself, the science of scheduling began in the machine shops of the industrial revolution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/though-time-management-seems-a-problem-as-old-as-time-itself-the/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“the math tells us why: the unknown has a chance of being better”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/the-math-tells-us-why-the-unknown-has-a-chance-of-being-better/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“There is no such thing as absolute certainty, but there is assurance sufficient for the purposes of human life. —JOHN STUART MILL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/there-is-no-such-thing-as-absolute-certainty-but-there-is-assurance/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [Pleasantries are low entropy, biased so far that they stop being an earnest inquiry and become ritual. Ritual has its virtues, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/pleasantries-are-low-entropy-biased-so-far-that-they-stop-being-an/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“What a familiarity with the construction of Turing test bots had begun to show me was that we fail - again and again- to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/what-a-familiarity-with-the-construction-of-turing-test-bots-had/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“We say “brain fart” when we should really say “cache miss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/we-say-brain-fart-when-we-should-really-say-cache-miss/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“When our expectations are uncertain and the data are noisy, the best bet is to paint with a broad brush”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/when-our-expectations-are-uncertain-and-the-data-are-noisy-the-best/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“Computer scientists have been working on finding this balance for more than fifty years. They even have a name for it: the explore/exploit tradeoff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/computer-scientists-have-been-working-on-finding-this-balance-for/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“We go through digital life, in the twenty-first century, with our guards up. All communication is a Turing test. All communication is suspect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/we-go-through-digital-life-in-the-twenty-first-century-with-our/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“exploration is gathering information, and exploitation is using the information”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/exploration-is-gathering-information-and-exploitation-is-using-the/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) [Explore all 67 Brian Christian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) ## More Computer science quotes > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [We need policymakers to keep an eye on gender and write policies that are explicitly designed to include underserved populations like girls in computer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/we-need-policymakers-to-keep-an-eye-on-gender-and-write-policies-that/) [Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/) > [I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-shopped-at-j-crew-in-high-school-i-studied-computer-science-i-was-a/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/my-high-school-the-illinois-mathematics-and-science-academy-showed-me/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [I was on this path to becoming a computer-science guy, but I didn't like it. I got no joy from it. It was very,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumail-nanjiani/i-was-on-this-path-to-becoming-a-computer-science-guy-but-i-didn-t/) [Kumail Nanjiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumail-nanjiani/) > [I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [I went to Drexel University, majored in computer science. Drexel has a great program - they call it co-op - but its, like, mandatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gruber/i-went-to-drexel-university-majored-in-computer-science-drexel-has-a/) [John Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gruber/) > [“I think that it’s extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-j-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer-2/) [Alan J. Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-j-perlis/) > [I think the combination of graduate education in a field like Computer Science and the opportunity to apply this in a work environment like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/i-think-the-combination-of-graduate-education-in-a-field-like/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [A number of people who are interested in computers in this lifetime programmed computers in Atlantis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-number-of-people-who-are-interested-in-computers-in-this-lifetime/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/computer-science-is-no-more-about-computers-than-astronomy-is-about/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Computer Science is the only discipline in which we view adding a new wing to a building as being maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-horning/computer-science-is-the-only-discipline-in-which-we-view-adding-a-new/) [Jim Horning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-horning/) > [We are lucky in the United States to have our liberal arts system. In most countries, if you go to university, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/we-are-lucky-in-the-united-states-to-have-our-liberal-arts-system-in/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [“We will start by sketching the recursive algorithm and then add details to get to a full description of the algorithm. Footnote : Translation:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sariel-har-peled/we-will-start-by-sketching-the-recursive-algorithm-and-then-add/) Sariel Har-Peled [Browse all 280 Computer science quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-science/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn’t sound so bad after all. 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