Errors Quote by Ellen Ullman
“To be a programmer is to develop a carefully managed relationship with error. There's no getting around it. You either make your accomodations with failure, or the work will become intolerable.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Art of Programming, 2005
Programmers must accept and manage errors; ignoring them leads to intolerable work.
In simple terms: Accept and work with mistakes.
Key Takeaway
Build error‑tolerant habits.
Themes
error management
programming mindset
acceptance
growth
Mood
practical
thoughtful
Type
technical
motivational
When to use this quote
- software development
- team collaboration
- learning from failure
Key Concepts
risk mitigation
debugging
software resilience
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance error acceptance with quality?
- When is it okay to ignore minor bugs?
A Different Perspective
Over‑reliance on error tolerance can reduce rigor.
![“I've always written. I'm from an older generation of programmers [who] did not come out of engineering. [A]ll sorts of people were drawn in from the social sciences and humanities.” quote by Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/341/ellen-ullman-3943_engineering_i-ve-always-written-i-m-from-an-older-ge_363898.jpg)
