"When certain concepts of TeX are introduced informally,……" — Donald Knuth
"When certain concepts of TeX are introduced informally, general rules will be stated; afterwards you will find that the rules aren't strictly true. In general, the later chapters contain more reliable information than the earlier ones do. The author feels that this technique of deliberate lying will actually make it easier for you to learn the ideas. Once you understand a simple but false rule, it will not be hard to supplement that rule with its exceptions."
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Donald Knuth
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57 Quotes by Donald Knuth
Donald Knuth has 57 quotes on this site.
A few more worth reading:
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Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind.
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If you optimize everything, you will always be unhappy.
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People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people…
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Premature optimization is the root of all evil.
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By understanding a machine-oriented language, the programmer will tend to use a much more efficient method; it is much closer…
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Always remember, however, that there’s usually a simpler and better way to do something than the first way that pops…
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Computer programming is an art, because it applies accumulated knowledge to the world, because it requires skill and ingenuity, and…
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Science is knowledge which we understand so well that we can teach it to a computer; and if we don't…
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The psychological profiling [of a programmer] is mostly the ability to shift levels of abstraction, from low level to high…
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The important thing, once you have enough to eat and a nice house, is what you can do for others,…
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The whole thing that makes a mathematician’s life worthwhile is that he gets the grudging admiration of three or four…
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I define UNIX as 30 definitions of regular expressions living under one roof.
See all 57 quotes by Donald Knuth »