--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Elegance? It may seem odd to…" description: "\"Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is an aesthetic in software as there is in every other area of intellectual endeavour. Truly gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg" --- # Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is… ![“Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is an aesthetic in software as there is in every other area of intellectual endeavour. Truly great programmers are like great poets or great mathematicians - they can achieve in a few lines what lesser mortals can only approach in three volumes” quote by John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg) > “Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is an aesthetic in software as there is in every other area of intellectual endeavour. Truly great programmers are like great poets or great mathematicians - they can achieve in a few lines what lesser mortals can only approach in three volumes” [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Software can be elegant, mirroring poetry and mathematics in concise expression. **In simple terms:** Code can be beautiful and concise like art. Key Takeaway Strive for simplicity and elegance in programming. Themes elegance creativity efficiency Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - programming - teaching - code review - system architecture Key Concepts aesthetics software design Questions to Reflect On - When does simplicity sacrifice functionality? - How to balance elegance with clarity? A Different Perspective Complex problems may resist simple solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Areas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/areas/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Elegance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegance/) [Elegance Odd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegance-odd-5983520/) [Endeavour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endeavour/) [Great poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-poet/) [Great Programmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-programmers-3590270/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematician/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Odd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odd/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Programmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmers/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientists Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-aesthetic-5983521/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Volume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volume/) ## Related quotes > [Beyond basic mathematical aptitude, the difference between good programmers and great programmers is verbal ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-mayer/beyond-basic-mathematical-aptitude-the-difference-between-good/) [Marissa Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-mayer/) > [From the day Microsoft was started, the only constraint to our growth has been attracting ah, more great programmers, very smart, committed, ah, people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/from-the-day-microsoft-was-started-the-only-constraint-to-our-growth/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [All great programmers learn the same way. They poke the box. They code something and see what the computer does. They change it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/all-great-programmers-learn-the-same-way-they-poke-the-box-they-code/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Great programmers learn how to program their tools, not just use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-yegge/great-programmers-learn-how-to-program-their-tools-not-just-use-them/) [Steve Yegge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-yegge/) > [When building a complex system, having crackerjack programmers (who can make any design work, even a bad one) can be a liability. The result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-pattis/when-building-a-complex-system-having-crackerjack-programmers-who-can/) [Richard E. Pattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-pattis/) > [Computer programmers tend, by and large, to be quirky and highly individualistic. Trying to organize or manage such awkward characters is normally as thankless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/computer-programmers-tend-by-and-large-to-be-quirky-and-highly/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [A great poet does not express his or her self; he expresses all of our selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/a-great-poet-does-not-express-his-or-her-self-he-expresses-all-of-our/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [I would say, from an all-around point of view, Bruce Springsteen is one of the two great poet lords of America, Bob Dylan, coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-davis/i-would-say-from-an-all-around-point-of-view-bruce-springsteen-is-one/) [Clive Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-davis/) > [“No man was ever yet a great poet, without at the same time being a profound philosopher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-man-was-ever-yet-a-great-poet-without-at-the-same-time-being-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A great poet gives words wings to fly in the reader's perceptual sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/a-great-poet-gives-words-wings-to-fly-in-the-reader-s-perceptual-sky/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [After all, the commonplaces are the great poetic truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/after-all-the-commonplaces-are-the-great-poetic-truths/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The way a great poet takes an idea, small like the bud of a flower and makes it bloom. And makes you feel deeply..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/the-way-a-great-poet-takes-an-idea-small-like-the-bud-of-a-flower-and/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [It will be hard James but you come from sturdy peasant stock men who picked cotton and dammed rivers and built railroads and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-will-be-hard-james-but-you-come-from-sturdy-peasant-stock-men-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## More by John Naughton > [Appeasement, said Winston Churchill, consists of being nice to a crocodile in the hope that he will eat you last. At the moment, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/appeasement-said-winston-churchill-consists-of-being-nice-to-a/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [Computer programmers tend, by and large, to be quirky and highly individualistic. Trying to organize or manage such awkward characters is normally as thankless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/computer-programmers-tend-by-and-large-to-be-quirky-and-highly/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [“It is too early to tell whether the Internet’s effect on media will be as radical as that of the printing press. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/it-is-too-early-to-tell-whether-the-internet-s-effect-on-media-will/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [A paradigm is a powerful theoretical and methodological framework which defines the working lives of thousands of intelligent and disciplined minds. And paradigms do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/a-paradigm-is-a-powerful-theoretical-and-methodological-framework/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [Nostalgia isn't a business model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/nostalgia-isn-t-a-business-model/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [What worries me is that we are increasingly enmeshed in incompetent systems, that is, systems that exhibit pathological behaviour but cant fix themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/what-worries-me-is-that-we-are-increasingly-enmeshed-in-incompetent/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [To say that Sputnik gave rise to some concern in the United States would be the understatement of the century. The truth is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/to-say-that-sputnik-gave-rise-to-some-concern-in-the-united-states/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) [Explore all 8 John Naughton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) ## More Achieve quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [I'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) [Deon Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-taylor/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) [Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Governments follow their people. A great deal has to do with the vision of the leadership of governments. They have a vision, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/governments-follow-their-people-a-great-deal-has-to-do-with-the/) [Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [To achieve something you've never achieved before, you must become someone you've never been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/to-achieve-something-you-ve-never-achieved-before-you-must-become/) [Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/) > [I've identified as bisexual since I was a teenager, and if we want to achieve equality for all in our policies, we need more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hill/i-ve-identified-as-bisexual-since-i-was-a-teenager-and-if-we-want-to/) [Katie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hill/) [Browse all 6,390 Achieve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is an aesthetic in software as there is in every other area of intellectual endeavour. Truly great programmers are like great poets or great mathematicians - they can achieve in a few lines what lesser mortals can only approach in three volumes", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Naughton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientists-but-there-is-an-aesthetic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achieve" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientists-but-there-is-an-aesthetic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/john-naughton-48958_achieve_elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientis_2395748.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is an aesthetic in software as there is in every…” — John Naughton", "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": "John Naughton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Elegance? It may seem odd to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientists-but-there-is-an-aesthetic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientists-but-there-is-an-aesthetic/#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 } } ] } ```