---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not be alarmed by the minor…"
description: "\"“Do not be alarmed by the minor inconsistencies in the syntax. They are meant to heighten your level of attention and thereby make you a better program..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg"
---

#  Do not be alarmed by the minor inconsistencies in the…

![“Do not be alarmed by the minor inconsistencies in the syntax. They are meant to heighten your level of attention and thereby make you a better programmer.” quote by David Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg)

> ““Do not be alarmed by the minor inconsistencies in the syntax. They are meant to heighten your level of attention and thereby make you a better programmer.””

David Geary

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Minor syntax errors are intentional, sharpening focus and improving programming skill

**In simple terms:** Small bugs boost attention and growth

Key Takeaway

Embrace minor errors as learning tools

Themes

programming attention to detail growth mindset

Mood

educational motivational

Type

Programming:1 Syntax:1 Technology:0 Inconsistencies Syntax:1 Better Programmer:1 Minor Inconsistencies:1 Syntax Meant:0

When to use this quote

- Over‑emphasis on errors can cause anxiety

Key Concepts

cognitive sharpening debugging practice software craftsmanship

Questions to Reflect On

- thoughtful
- encouraging

A Different Perspective

What minor inconsistency taught you the most?;How can you balance focus with confidence?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/)

## Related quotes

> [Most programming languages contain good parts and bad parts. I discovered that I could be better programmer by using only the good parts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crockford/most-programming-languages-contain-good-parts-and-bad-parts-i/)

[Douglas Crockford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crockford/)

> [My favorite language for maintainability is Python. It has simple, clean syntax, object encapsulation, good library support, and optional named parameters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-cohen/my-favorite-language-for-maintainability-is-python-it-has-simple/)

[Bram Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-cohen/)

> [I'm still uncertain about the language declaration syntax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-ritchie/i-m-still-uncertain-about-the-language-declaration-syntax/)

[Dennis Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-ritchie/)

> [“Nouns and verbs hold the power but syntax casts the spell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-peery/nouns-and-verbs-hold-the-power-but-syntax-casts-the-spell/)

Janet Peery

> [“A like N.B. that Ewell ends up inserting under the heading Biker is that every professional tattooist everybody who can remember getting their tattoos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/a-like-n-b-that-ewell-ends-up-inserting-under-the-heading-biker-is/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [A computer program is a message from a man to a machine. The rigidly marshaled syntax and the scrupulous definitions all exist to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-brooks/a-computer-program-is-a-message-from-a-man-to-a-machine-the-rigidly/)

[Fred Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-brooks/)

> [since feelings come first, who cares about the syntax of things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/since-feelings-come-first-who-cares-about-the-syntax-of-things/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time &amp; Space through images juxtaposed, and trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/who-dreamt-and-made-incarnate-gaps-in-time-space-through-images/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

> [Composing computer programs to solve scientific problems is like writing poetry. You must choose every word with care and link it with the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/composing-computer-programs-to-solve-scientific-problems-is-like/)

[James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/)

> [ \[Dennis Mathis\] was very sensitive about keeping the unique way that I spoke English - it had a lot of Mexicanisms or Mexican syntax.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/dennis-mathis-was-very-sensitive-about-keeping-the-unique-way-that-i/)

[Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/)

> [ Poetry springs directly from our primal need and capacity for communication\[Poetry\] mobilizes such a concentration of devices, such an intensification of language via rhythm,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-birkerts/poetry-springs-directly-from-our-primal-need-and-capacity-for/)

[Sven Birkerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-birkerts/)

> [The constitution of madness as a mental illness, at the end of the eighteenth century, affords the evidence of a broken dialogue, posits the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-constitution-of-madness-as-a-mental-illness-at-the-end-of-the/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [You have to be ready, and also you have to discard notions that are fondly held by a lot of musicians, about sequences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/you-have-to-be-ready-and-also-you-have-to-discard-notions-that-are/)

[Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/)

> [“You must know in what way you are going to use the morphology and syntax to build your 'how”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-vanderbuilt/you-must-know-in-what-way-you-are-going-to-use-the-morphology-and/)

[Frederick Vanderbuilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-vanderbuilt/)

> [ Avant-garde theatre, with its distrust of the individual (that bourgeois invention), tends to go beyond \[character\] and the psychological approach in search of a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrice-pavis/avant-garde-theatre-with-its-distrust-of-the-individual-that/)

Patrice Pavis

## More Programming quotes

> [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/)

[Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/)

> [When we shipped 'Borderlands 2,' we didn't ship it with a plan of how the level cap was going to increase. We didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pitchford/when-we-shipped-borderlands-2-we-didn-t-ship-it-with-a-plan-of-how/)

[Randy Pitchford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pitchford/)

> [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/)

[Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/)

> [“Check the program before you two start undressing and...well, doing whatever freaky shit you talked Harley into.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/check-the-program-before-you-two-start-undressing-and-well-doing/)

[James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/)

> [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/)

[Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/)

> [One of my most productive days was throwing away 1,000 lines of code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-thompson/one-of-my-most-productive-days-was-throwing-away-1-000-lines-of-code/)

[Ken Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-thompson/)

> [Writing code means always having to say you're sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ford/writing-code-means-always-having-to-say-you-re-sorry/)

[Paul Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ford/)

> [Limit use of shareware and public domain software to systems without fixed disks. If you do use them on fixed disks, allocate separate subdirectories...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/limit-use-of-shareware-and-public-domain-software-to-systems-without/)

[John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/)

> [I'm publicist, patron of nine charities, creative director, food consultant, recipe developer - and mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-monroe/i-m-publicist-patron-of-nine-charities-creative-director-food/)

[Jack Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-monroe/)

> [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/)

[David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/)

> [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/)

[Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/)

> [A lot of the kids gave a lot of positive feedback about if I ever became a coach, they would love to play in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/a-lot-of-the-kids-gave-a-lot-of-positive-feedback-about-if-i-ever/)

[Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/)

> [I loved 'Chicago Code;' I watched that a lot. It was great because it really captured the city - I'm from Chicago, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessy-schram/i-loved-chicago-code-i-watched-that-a-lot-it-was-great-because-it/)

[Jessy Schram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessy-schram/)

> [I kind of pride myself on coming onto things that are well-oiled machines and finding a way to bring what I bring and fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-kind-of-pride-myself-on-coming-onto-things-that-are-well-oiled/)

[Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/)

> [“By rendering the model in ASN.1, the NCBI created a system that combined objects (DNA sequences, protein sequences, references, sequence features) from a variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/by-rendering-the-model-in-asn-1-the-ncbi-created-a-system-that/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 6,477 Programming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Do not be alarmed by the minor inconsistencies in the syntax. They are meant to heighten your level of attention and thereby make you a better programmer.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Geary"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geary/do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsistencies-in-the-syntax-they-are/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Programming"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geary/do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsistencies-in-the-syntax-they-are/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/david-geary-231191_programming_do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsist_27802.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do not be alarmed by the minor inconsistencies in the syntax. They are meant to heighten your level of…” — David Geary",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Geary",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-geary/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Do not be alarmed by the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geary/do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsistencies-in-the-syntax-they-are/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geary/do-not-be-alarmed-by-the-minor-inconsistencies-in-the-syntax-they-are/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
