Computer quotes

From Motley Bytes Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Isaac_Asimov

Computer Arithmetic

“Computers are better than we are at arithmetic, not because computers are so good at it, but because we are so bad at it.”
  • Source: Isaac Asimov, chapter epigraph in Isaac Asimov’s Book of Science and Nature Quotations, edited by Isaac Asimov and Jason A. Shulman, published in 1988 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, New York. Chapter 14, page 51. ISBN 1-555-84111-2.
Keywords: Computer_quotes Better_quotes Arithmetic_quotes Good_quotes Bad_quotes

David_Auerbach

Model Ontologies

“It is the irony of the data age that computers, with little to no understanding of the models they are employing, are increasingly acting as primary arbiters of the ontologies employed by humans.”
  • Source: David Auerbach, in the article “Bitwise: A Life in Code” published in 2019 in Communications of the ACM, Volume 62, Issue 9 (September). DOI: 10.1145/3347864.
Keywords: Irony_quotes Data_quotes Age_quotes Computer_quotes Understanding_quotes Model_quotes Employ_quotes Act_quotes Primary_quotes Arbiter_quotes Ontology_quotes Human_quotes

Safe Accurate Data

“The specific problem computer science faces in these ‘data network’ scenarios is that of making the data ‘safe’ and ‘accurate’ for the networks.”
  • Source: David Auerbach, in the article “Bitwise: A Life in Code” published in 2019 in Communications of the ACM, Volume 62, Issue 9 (September). DOI: 10.1145/3347864.
Keywords: Problem_quotes Computer_quotes Science_quotes Computer_Science_quotes Face_quotes Data_quotes Network_quotes Scenario_quotes Make_quotes Safe_quotes Accurate_quotes

Robert_N_Britcher

Scientific Method and Testing

“The scientific method is not part of their curriculum. The men and women who are called upon to test computer systems know little, if anything, about running a simple experiment.”
  • Source:Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 58.
Keywords: Scientific_Method_quotes Curriculum_quotes Education_quotes Testing_quotes System_quotes Computer_quotes Knowledge_quotes Experiment_quotes Part_quotes Men_quotes Women_quotes Call_quotes Little_quotes Run_quotes Simple_quotes

Failure Probability

“The probability of a failure in a computer system is never zero. There are always failures - if not evident, then latent.”
  • Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 61.
Keywords: Probability_quotes Failure_quotes Computer_quotes System_quotes Latency_quotes Zero_quotes Evident_quotes

When to Stop Testing

“Two of the great questions in developing computer systems are (1) When do we stop testing? and (2) At any point during testing, how far along are we? The second question cannot be answered until the first one has been answered. The first question can be answered by fiat.”
  • Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 61.
Keywords: Testing_quotes Question_quotes Development_quotes Computer_quotes System_quotes Stopping_quotes Progress_quotes Metric_quotes Completion_quotes Great_quotes Far_quotes Answer_quotes Fiat_quotes

Programming Miracle

“Computer programming is a bit of a miracle.”
  • Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 128.
Keywords: Computer_quotes Programming_quotes Miracle_quotes Difficulty_quotes

Mixed Abstractions

“... computer systems and programming attract brainy people because symbol systems mix abstractions. One thing appears to be something else depending on how you look at it.”
  • Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 129.
Keywords: Computer_quotes System_quotes Brain_quotes Intelligence_quotes People_quotes Abstraction_quotes Perception_quotes Appearance_quotes Programming_quotes Programmer_quotes Symbol_quotes Depend_quotes Look_quotes

Errors in Tests and Simulators

“The simulator software had to be tested as thoroughly as the software it was built to test. A fault in the simulator would cause the worst kind of problem, what computer analysts call a Byzantine failure. Byzantine failures are like traitors in a family. There is always a risk this will happen.”
  • Source: Britcher, Robert N. (1999). The Limits of Software: People, Projects, and Perspectives. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-43323-0. Page 61.
Keywords: Error_quotes Simulation_quotes Testing_quotes Software_quotes Fault_quotes Problem_quotes Analysis_quotes Byzantine_quotes Failure_quotes Traitor_quotes Risk_quotes Build_quotes Cause_quotes Computer_quotes Analyst_quotes Family_quotes

Fred_Brooks

Team Design

“Team design is increasingly the norm for complex artifacts. Teams are often geographically dispersed. Designers are increasingly divorced from both use and implementation — typically they no longer can build with their own hands the things they design. All kinds of designs are now captured in computer models instead of drawings. Formal design processes are increasingly taught, and they are often mandated by employers.”
  • Source: Brooks Jr., F. P. (2010). The Design of Design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 978-0-201-36298-5. Preface.
Keywords: Design_quotes Team_quotes Complexity_quotes Distance_quotes Deskill_quotes Model_quotes Formality_quotes Mandate_quotes Increase_quotes Norm_quotes Artifact_quotes Geographic_quotes Disperse_quotes Designer_quotes Divorce_quotes Use_quotes Implementation_quotes Typical_quotes Build_quotes Hand_quotes Capture_quotes Computer_quotes Drawing_quotes Process_quotes Teach_quotes Employer_quotes

Edward_Emil_David

Competitive Rush

"Computing has one property, unique I think, that seriously aggravates the uncertainties associated with software efforts. In computing, the research, development, and production phases are often telescoped into one process. In the competitive rush to make available the latest techniques, such as on-line consoles served by time-shared computers, we strive to take great forward leaps across gulfs of unknown width and depth."
Keywords: Software_Engineering_quotes Computer_quotes Uncertainty_quotes Effort_quotes Research_quotes Development_quotes Production_quotes Telescope_quotes Process_quotes Competition_quotes Unknown_quotes Scope_quotes Requirements_quotes Property_quotes Unique_quotes Aggravate_quotes Software_quotes Engineering_quotes Phase_quotes Technique_quotes Console_quotes Timeshare_quotes Strive_quotes Forward_quotes Leap_quotes Gulf_quotes Width_quotes Depth_quotes

David_Deutsch

Theory of Computation

“The theory of computation has traditionally been studied almost entirely in the abstract, as a topic in pure mathematics. This is to miss the point of it. Computers are physical objects, and computations are physical processes. What computers can or cannot compute is determined by the laws of physics alone, and not by pure mathematics.”
Keywords: Computation_quotes Theory_quotes Tradition_quotes Abstraction_quotes Mathematics_quotes Computer_quotes Physical_quotes Object_quotes Physics_quotes Study_quotes Determine_quotes

Gigantic Computation

“Think of all our knowledge-generating processes, our whole culture and civilization, and all the thought processes in the minds of every individual, and indeed the entire evolving biosphere as well, as being a gigantic computation. The whole thing is executing a self-motivated, self-generating computer program. More specifically it is, as I have mentioned, a virtual-reality program in the process of rendering, with ever-increasing accuracy, the whole of existence.”
Keywords: Knowledge_quotes Culture_quotes Civilization_quotes Thinking_quotes Process_quotes Mind_quotes Evolution_quotes Biosphere_quotes Computed_Reality_quotes Computation_quotes Virtual_Reality_quotes Program_quotes Rendering_quotes Accuracy_quotes Existence_quotes Increase_quotes Generate_quotes Whole_quotes Computer_quotes Gigantic_quotes

Edsger_Wybe_Dijkstra

Big Machines Big Problems

“As long as there were no machines, programming was no problem at all; when we had a few weak computers, programming became a mild problem, and now we have gigantic computers, programming has become an equally gigantic problem.”
  • Source: Edsger Wybe Dijkstra in an article entitled The Humble Programmer. Written by Edsger W. Dijkstra. Published 1972 in Communications of the ACM, volume 15, number 10. DOI: 10.1145/355604.361591.
Keywords: Machine_quotes Programming_quotes Problem_quotes Computer_quotes Gigantic_quotes

Stuart_Hameroff

Brain Neurons

“Well I used to think as other people do that the brain is a computer and I think instead, as I have said before, it's more of a multi-scale hierarchical system. More like a musical system in some sense. I'd refer to it as a quantum orchestra. Because I think the computational metaphor doesn't work because, well it works to a point but it treats neurons  as simple on/off switches and that's an insult to neurons... If you go inside neurons there's all this interesting, I hate to use the word complex because I think complexity is often the last refuge of the bewildered. Just say it's complex and that explains everything which I think is wrong. But you have all this structure, these microtubules doing all this interesting quantum stuff and quantum computation reducing by OR [Orchestrated Objective Reduction/Orch OR] is not the kind of computation I was disillusioned with. So, I'd say that one thing is that the brain is a multi-scale hierarchal system more like music than a classical computer.”
  • Source: Stuart Hameroff speaking in the YouTube video entitled “Sir Roger Penrose & Stuart Hameroff: Collapsing a theory of quantum consciousness? Part 2 (248)” on the channel entitled “Dr Brian Keating” streamed live 2022-08-05, retrieved 2024-04-17 from <https://www.youtube.com/live/OoDi856wLPM?si=XJrLm0AVUIl_dECG>.
Keywords: Think_quotes People_quotes Brain_quotes Computer_quotes Multi-Scale_quotes Hierarchical_quotes Music_quotes Quantum_quotes System_quotes Sense_quotes Orchestra_quotes Metaphor_quotes Work_quotes Point_quotes Treat_quotes Neuron_quotes Simple_quotes On-Off_quotes Switch_quotes Insult_quotes Inside_quotes Interest_quotes Hate_quotes Complex_quotes Last_quotes Refuge_quotes Bewilder_quotes Say_quotes Explain_quotes Everything_quotes Wrong_quotes Structure_quotes Microtubule_quotes Stuff_quotes Computation_quotes Reduce_quotes Orch-OR_quotes Kind_quotes Disillusion_quotes Classical_quotes

Robert_Heinlein

Specialization

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”.
  • Source: Written by Robert A. Heinlein in the book “Time Enough for Love”, published in 1973 by Putnam's Sons, ISBN: 0-399-11151-4. ISBN: 9781101503072 (ebook). Page 256 (Kindle edition).
Keywords: Human_quotes Being_quotes Diaper_quotes Plan_quotes Invasion_quotes Butcher_quotes Hog_quotes Conn_quotes Ship_quotes Design_quotes Building_quotes Write_quotes Sonnet_quotes Balance_quotes Account_quotes Build_quotes Wall_quotes Bone_quotes Comfort_quotes Dying_quotes Take_quotes Order_quotes Give_quotes Cooperate_quotes Act_quotes Solve_quotes Equation_quotes Analyze_quotes Problem_quotes Pitch_quotes Manure_quotes Program_quotes Computer_quotes Cook_quotes Taste_quotes Meal_quotes Fight_quotes Efficient_quotes Die_quotes Gallant_quotes Specialization_quotes Insect_quotes Generalization_quotes

Donald_Hoffman

AI Computation

“If we look at an LLM [Large Language Model] or a future AI [Artificial Intelligence], it's going to be some kind of computational system. And computational systems have their limits. We have Gödel who said that at a minimum. I'm betting that you and I are avatars of an infinite intelligence that's the true source of all creativity and that Einstein or any scientist taps into when they come up with their truly original ideas. The first step would be to say, if it's just a computational bias, then it doesn't transcend. It doesn't get to this true originality. But then there's a deeper level... These are just avatars in a particular headset. So why can't we create a new avatar in our headset that looks like a computer that is actually an avatar of the deep intelligence? If we are only going to stick with the computational thing... But somehow the [human] avatar is a portal into the infinite consciousness... And we know one way of creating new portals into this infinite consciousness, and that is having kids. So that is one technology that allows us to do that. Once we understand spacetime as a headset, and we understand the headset and at least some layers of its relationship to the infinite reality, that's the source of true insight and true originality and creativity, could we figure out new ways to open up genuine new portals, and might that look like AI… The jury is out.”
  • Source: Donald Hoffman, in the YouTube video entitled “Donald Hoffman's New Approach To Consciousness” channel “Dr Brian Keating”. Online at <https://youtu.be/mU_WBela71Y?si=fNfLLsOsUDRDC1XD> posted 2024-08, retrieved 2024-08. In video at 1:14:40.
Keywords: Look_quotes LLM_quotes Large_quotes Language_quotes Model_quotes Future_quotes AI_quotes Artificial_quotes Intelligence_quotes Computation_quotes System_quotes Limit_quotes Gödel(topic)_quotes Minimum_quotes Bet_quotes Avatar_quotes Infinite_quotes True_quotes Source_quotes Creativity_quotes Einstein(topic)_quotes Scientist_quotes Tap_quotes Original_quotes Idea_quotes Bias_quotes Transcend_quotes Deep_quotes Level_quotes Particular_quotes Headset_quotes Create_quotes New_quotes Computer_quotes Actual_quotes Human_quotes Portal_quotes Consciousness_quotes Kid_quotes Technology_quotes Allow_quotes Understand_quotes Spacetime_quotes Relationship_quotes Reality_quotes Figure_quotes Way_quotes Open_quotes Genuine_quotes Jury_quotes

The Interface

“The purpose of a desktop interface is not to show you the ‘truth’ of the computer — where ‘truth,’ in this metaphor, refers to circuits, voltages, and layers of software. Rather, the purpose of an interface is to hide the ‘truth’ and to show simple graphics that help you perform useful tasks such as crafting emails and editing photos. If you had to toggle voltages to craft an email, your friends would never hear from you. That is what evolution has done. It has endowed us with senses that hide the truth and display the simple icons we need to survive long enough to raise offspring. Space, as you perceive it when you look around, is just your desktop — a 3D desktop. Apples, snakes, and other physical objects are simply icons in your 3D desktop.”
  • Source: Donald Hoffman, writing in his book “The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes”. Published by W. W. Norton, New York, NY, in 2019. ISBN 978-0393254693. Preface, page 7.
Keywords: Purpose_quotes Desktop_quotes Interface_quotes Show_quotes Truth_quotes Computer_quotes Metaphor_quotes Refer_quotes Circuit_quotes Voltage_quotes Layer_quotes Software_quotes Hide_quotes Simple_quotes Graphic_quotes Perform_quotes Task_quotes Craft_quotes Email_quotes Edit_quotes Photo_quotes Toggle_quotes Friends_quotes Hear_quotes Evolution_quotes Endow_quotes Sense_quotes Display_quotes Icon_quotes Need_quotes Survive_quotes Raise_quotes Offspring_quotes Space_quotes Perception_quotes Look_quotes 3D_quotes Apple_quotes Snake_quotes Physical_quotes Object_quotes

Grace_Hopper

Bugs

“From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.”
  • Source: Grace Hopper as quoted in Time magazine (16 April 1984).
  • Notes: On the removal of a 2-inch-long moth from the Harvard Mark II experimental computer at Harvard in 1947. Note that the term "bug" was in use by people in several technical disciplines long before that; Thomas Edison used the term, and it was common AT&T parlance in the 1920s to refer to bugs in the wires. Hopper is credited with popularizing the term's use in the computing field.
Keywords: Error_quotes Mistake_quotes Bug_quotes Wrong_quotes Computer_quotes

Information Flood

“We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.”
  • Source: Grace Hopper as quoted in "The Wit and Wisdom of Grace Hopper" by Philip Schieber in OCLC Newsletter, No. 167 (March/April 1987).
Keywords: Information_quotes Knowledge_quotes Artificial_Intelligence_quotes Creativity_quotes Flood_quotes People_quotes Feed_quotes Processor_quotes Human_quotes Intelligence_quotes Forget_quotes Computer_quotes Ask_quotes New_quotes Question_quotes

Always Done It

“I think the saddest phrase I ever hear at a computer installation is that horrible one, ‘but we've always done it that way’. That's a forbidden phrase in my office.”
  • Source: Grace Hopper in a lecture delivered 1982-08-19 at the NSA (National Security Agency). Video available at YouTube as “NSA Releases Internal 1982 Lecture by Computing Pioneer Rear Admiral Grace Hopper”, channel The Black Vault Originals, online at <https://youtu.be/_bP14OzIJWI?si=wcUTl04b4p4scY6k>, posted 2024-08, retrieved 2024-08. Quote in video at 23:40.
Keywords: Sad_quotes Phrase_quotes Hear_quotes Computer_quotes Installation_quotes Horrible_quotes Done_quotes Always_quotes Way_quotes Forbidden_quotes Office_quotes Change_quotes

Sabine_Hossenfelder

Brain Atoms

“The average human brain, for example, contains about a thousand trillion trillion atoms. [About 1027]. Even with today’s most powerful supercomputers, no one can calculate just how all these atoms interact to create conscious thought.”
  • Source: Hossenfelder, Sabine. Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions (p. 83). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Keywords: Average_quotes Human_quotes Brain_quotes Contain_quotes Thousand_quotes Trillion_quotes Atom_quotes Powerful_quotes Supercomputer_quotes Computer_quotes Calculate_quotes Interact_quotes Create_quotes Conscious_quotes Thought_quotes

Hans_Hüttel

Program Synthesis

“The problem of generating correct program code from a specification is well known in computer science and in fact it is a central one. It is the problem of program synthesis... A lot is already known about the synthesis problem in its various guises and in particular we know it is hard, where ‘hard’ means computationally hard.”
  • Source: Written by Hans Hüttel in the journal article entitled “On Program Synthesis and Large Language Models”, in Communications of the ACM, volume 68, number 1, 2025-01. DOI:10.1145/3680410.
Keywords: Problem_quotes Generate_quotes Correct_quotes Program_quotes Code_quotes Specification_quotes Know_quotes Computer_quotes Science_quotes Fact_quotes Central_quotes Synthesis_quotes Lot_quotes Already_quotes Various_quotes Guise_quotes Hard_quotes Computation_quotes

David_Kipping

Nature Computation

“It is important to distinguish between testing whether the universe is built upon the principles of computation but is not a simulation versus testing where the universe is indeed a simulation on someone's computer. Those are different to each other. It is quite possible that the laws of computation are somehow embedded within nature and yet everything we see around us is not a simulation.”
  • Source: David Kipping from the YouTube “Why You're Probably Not a Simulation”, posted 2020-09-04 in the channel ‘Cool Worlds’. Video offset 11:15. Online at https://youtu.be/HA5YuwvJkpQ (2025).
Keywords: Important_quotes Distinguish_quotes Between_quotes Testing_quotes Universe_quotes Build_quotes Principle_quotes Computation_quotes Simulation_quotes Computer_quotes Different_quotes Each_quotes Other_quotes Possible_quotes Law_quotes Embed_quotes Nature_quotes Everything_quotes See_quotes Around_quotes

Christof_Koch

Brain Cells Switches or Computers

“Conventional wisdom views individual brain cells as simple switches or relays. In fact, we are finding that neurons are able to function more like a sophisticated computer.”
Keywords: Convention_quotes Wisdom_quotes View_quotes Individual_quotes Brain_quotes Cell_quotes Simplicity_quotes Switch_quotes Relay_quotes Find_quotes Neuron_quotes Ability_quotes Function_quotes Sophisticated_quotes Computer_quotes Neural_quotes

Kenneth_W_Kolence

Software Not Physical

“We clearly do not now have an engineering capability comparable to those based on the physical sciences. Such a capability is what is implied by the term software engineering. But software is not a physical system, it is a description of what one describes how a given physical system (a computer of some sort) should act. Thus software is more akin to engineering drawings, either maintained on paper or within a computer. ... So probably it is incorrect to assume software engineering should be considered as a sibling in the family of the physical science based engineering disciplines.”
Keywords: Engineering_quotes Capability_quotes Compare_quotes Physical_quotes Science_quotes Software_Engineering_quotes Software_quotes System_quotes Computer_quotes Activity_quotes Drawing_quotes Paper_quotes Sibling_quotes Family_quotes Discipline_quotes Consider_quotes Maintain_quotes Incorrect_quotes

David_E_Nye

Machines Not Autonomous

“...machines are not autonomous. Particular corporations and individuals were responsible for irrigating the West, lighting the world's fair, installing computers in factories, or mining coal, iron ore, and other resources.”
  • Source: A book. Written by David E. Nye. Entitled 'Narratives and Spaces'. Published in 1997 by Univerity of Exeter Press, Exeter, UK. Hardback ISBN 0-85989-555-6. Paperback ISBN 0-85989-556-4. Introduction, page 2.
Keywords: Machine_quotes Autonomous_quotes Corporation_quotes Individual_quotes Responsibility_quotes Irrigtion_quotes West_quotes Lighting_quotes World_quotes Fair_quotes Install_quotes Computer_quotes Factory_quotes Mining_quotes Iron_quotes Ore_quotes Coal_quotes Resource_quotes

Technology Contested

“Technologies are contested terrains. World's fairs, spectacular lighting, and media events all have changed in response to shifting public tastes. Americans had divided reactions to the Apollo Space Program, and they created divergent narratives to understand computers, the electrification of society, and the meanings of energy sources. Technologies are contested, and a close reading of such events... reveals not hegemonic control but a welter of meanings. The public understands technology not as one-dimensional agents of change, but as both enabling and disabling innovations.”
  • Source: A book. Written by David E. Nye. Entitled 'Narratives and Spaces'. Published in 1997 by Univerity of Exeter Press, Exeter, UK. Hardback ISBN 0-85989-555-6. Paperback ISBN 0-85989-556-4. Introduction, page 3.
Keywords: Technology_quotes Contested_quotes Terrain_quotes World_quotes Fair_quotes Spectacular_quotes Lighting_quotes Media_quotes Event_quotes Change_quotes Response_quotes Public_quotes Taste_quotes American_quotes Divide_quotes Reaction_quotes Apollo_quotes Space_quotes Program_quotes Create_quotes Divergent_quotes Narrative_quotes Understand_quotes Computer_quotes Electrification_quotes Society_quotes Meaning_quotes Energy_quotes Hegemonic_quotes Control_quotes Welter_quotes One_quotes Dimension_quotes Agent_quotes Enable_quotes Disable_quotes Innovation_quotes

Programmers Perfectionists

“A single error in a program thousands of lines long prevented it from running correctly, and computer programmers became known as a fanatically exact group of perfectionists, working in an arcane specialty. Sociologists studying the ‘man-machine' interface found that a programmer's personality often changed after prolonged exposure to the computer, becoming severely logical and machine-like.”
  • Source: A book. Written by David E. Nye. Entitled 'Narratives and Spaces'. Published in 1997 by Univerity of Exeter Press, Exeter, UK. Hardback ISBN 0-85989-555-6. Paperback ISBN 0-85989-556-4. Chapter 10, page 164.
Keywords: Single_quotes Error_quotes Program_quotes Thousand_quotes Line_quotes Long_quotes Prevent_quotes Run_quotes Correct_quotes Computer_quotes Programmer_quotes Fanatic_quotes Exact_quotes Group_quotes Perfectionist_quotes Work_quotes Arcane_quotes Specialty_quotes Sociologist_quotes Study_quotes Man_quotes Machine_quotes Interface_quotes Find_quotes Personality_quotes Change_quotes Prolong_quotes Exposure_quotes Severe_quotes Logical_quotes Software_quotes Engineering_quotes Software_Engineering_quotes

Tim_Palmer

Qubit Information Capacity

“Is there a fundamental reason why quantum computers cannot factor large integers used for encryption today? We introduce a concept called Qubit Information Capacity which arises if the continuum nature of quantum mechanics’ state space is an approximation for something inherently discrete. We argue that the physical reason for such discreteness is gravity. Based on this, we predict that quantum computers will never be able to break realistic RSA-encrypted messages.”
Keywords: Fundamental_quotes Reason_quotes Quantum_quotes Computer_quotes Factor_quotes Integer_quotes Encryption_quotes Concept_quotes Qubit_quotes Information_quotes Capacity_quotes Arise_quotes Contunuum_quotes Mechanics_quotes State_quotes Space_quotes Approximation_quotes Inherent_quotes Discrete_quotes Argue_quotes Physical_quotes Gravity_quotes Predict_quotes Never_quotes Ability_quotes Break_quotes Realistic_quotes RSA_quotes Message_quotes

Alan_Perlis

Unnatural Natural Language

“Within a computer natural language is unnatural.”
Keywords: Natural_quotes Unnatural_quotes Computer_quotes Language_quotes

Knowledge and Wisdom

“Both knowledge and wisdom extend man's reach. Knowledge led to computers, wisdom to chopsticks.”
Keywords: Knowledge_quotes Wisdom_quotes Extension_quotes Humanity_quotes Reach_quotes Computer_quotes Chopsticks_quotes

Steven_Pinker

Thinking is Computation

“Thinking is computation, I claim, but that does not mean that the computer is a good metaphor for the mind.”
  • Source: Steven Pinker (1997). How the Mind Works. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06973-0; eISBN 978-0-393-06973-0. Chapter 1 Section Reverse-Engineering the Psyche.
Keywords: Thinking_quotes Computation_quotes Claim_quotes Meaning_quotes Computer_quotes Good_quotes Metaphor_quotes Mind_quotes

Computational Theory of Mind

“The computational theory of mind is not the same thing as the despised ‘computer metaphor.’ As many critics have pointed out, computers are serial, doing one thing at a time; brains are parallel, doing millions of things at once. Computers are fast; brains are slow. Computer parts are reliable; brain parts are noisy. Computers have a limited number of connections; brains have trillions. Computers are assembled according to a blueprint; brains must assemble themselves.”
  • Source: Steven Pinker (1997). How the Mind Works. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06973-0; eISBN 978-0-393-06973-0. Chapter 1 Section Reverse-Engineering the Psyche.
Keywords: Computation_quotes Theory_quotes Mind_quotes Despise_quotes Computer_quotes Metaphor_quotes Criticism_quotes Point_quotes Serial_quotes Time_quotes Brain_quotes Parallel_quotes Fast_quotes Slow_quotes Reliability_quotes Part_quotes Noise_quotes Limitation_quotes Number_quotes Connection_quotes Assembly_quotes According_quotes Blueprint_quotes Million_quotes Trillion_quotes

Computational Mind Probabilistic

“The computational theory thus embraces an alternative kind of computer with many elements that are active to a degree corresponding to the probability that some statement is true or false, and in which the activity levels change smoothly to register new and roughly accurate probabilities. (As we shall see, that may be the way the brain works.) The key idea is that the answer to the question 'What makes a system smart?' is not the kind of stuff it is made of or the kind of energy flowing through it, but what the parts of the machine stand for and how the patterns of changes inside it are designed to mirror truth-preserving relationships (including probabilistic and fuzzy truths).”
  • Source: Steven Pinker (1997). How the Mind Works. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06973-0; eISBN 978-0-393-06973-0. Chapter 2 Section: The search for Intelligent Life in the Universe.
Keywords: Computation_quotes Theory_quotes Embrace_quotes Alternative_quotes Kind_quotes Computer_quotes Element_quotes Activity_quotes Degree_quotes Correspondence_quotes Probability_quotes Statement_quotes True_quotes False_quotes Level_quotes Change_quotes Smooth_quotes Register_quotes Rough_quotes Accuracy_quotes Sight_quotes Way_quotes Brain_quotes Work_quotes Key_quotes Idea_quotes Answer_quotes Question_quotes System_quotes Smart_quotes Stuff_quotes Energy_quotes Flow_quotes Part_quotes Machine_quotes Stand_quotes Pattern_quotes Inside_quotes Design_quotes Mirror_quotes Fuzzy_quotes Truth_quotes Preservation_quotes Mind_quotes

Jef_Raskin

Worldwide Network

“In looking back at this turn-of-the-century period, the rise of a worldwide network will be seen as the most significant part of the computer revolution.”
Keywords: Century_quotes Period_quotes Rise_quotes Internet_quotes Worldwide_quotes Network_quotes Significance_quotes Part_quotes Computer_quotes Revolution_quotes

Oppressive Computers

“Right now, computers, which are supposed to be our servant, are oppressing us.”
  • Source: Jef Raskin, on the potential to improve human-computer interaction, in interview with Berkeley Groks (3 March 2004).
Keywords: Computer_quotes User_Interface_quotes Servant_quotes Oppression_quotes Suppose_quotes Unexpected_quotes Engineering_quotes

Claude_Shannon

Computer Capacities

“It is not being suggested that we should design the strategy in our own image. Rather it should be matched to the capacities and weakness of the computer.”
  • Source: From the paper “Programming a Computer for Playing Chess” by Claude Shannon, published in 1950 in “London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science”, volume 41, issue 314, Series 7. March.
Keywords: Design_quotes Strategy_quotes Image_quotes Match_quotes Capacity_quotes Weakness_quotes Computer_quotes

Herbert_Simon

Decentralization

“Business organizations, like markets, are vast distributed computers whose decision processes are substantially decentralized.”
Keywords: Business_quotes Organization_quotes Market_quotes Vast_quotes Distributed_quotes Computer_quotes Decision_quotes Process_quotes Decentralization_quotes

Computer Programming as Data Structures

“When we write a computer program in any language except machine language, we are really not writing down processes but data structures. These data structures are then interpreted or compiled into processes, that is, into machine-language instructions that the computer can understand and execute. Nevertheless, for most purposes, it is convenient for us simply to ignore the translation step and to treat the computer programs in higher-level languages as representing processes.”
Keywords: Writing_quotes Programming_quotes Computer_quotes Program_quotes Language_quotes Exception_quotes Machine_quotes Process_quotes Data_quotes Structure_quotes Interpretation_quotes Compilation_quotes Instruction_quotes Understanding_quotes Execution_quotes Purpose_quotes Convenience_quotes Simplicity_quotes Ignore_quotes Translation_quotes Step_quotes Treat_quotes High_quotes Level_quotes Representation_quotes

Top Down or Bottom Up

“Alternatives are also open, in organizing the design process, as to how far development of possible subsystems will be carried before the overall coordinating design is developed in detail, or vice-versa, how far the overall design should be carried before various components, or possible components, are developed. These alternatives of design are familiar to architects. They are familiar also to composers, who must decide how far the architectonics of a musical structure will be evolved before some of the component musical themes and other elements have been invented. Computer programmers face the same choices, between working downward from executive routines to subroutines or upward from component subroutines to a coordinating executive.”
Keywords: Alternative_quotes Open_quotes Organize_quotes Design_quotes Process_quotes Far_quotes Development_quotes Subsystem_quotes Carry_quotes Coordination_quotes Detail_quotes Vice-versa_quotes Overall_quotes Component_quotes Possibility_quotes Familiar_quotes Composer_quotes Decision_quotes Architectonic_quotes Music_quotes Theme_quotes Element_quotes Invention_quotes Computer_quotes Programmer_quotes Face_quotes Choice_quotes Work_quotes Downward_quotes Executive_quotes Routine_quotes Subroutine_quotes Upward_quotes Structure_quotes Evolve_quotes

Max_Tegmark

Mathematical Computer Game

“The closer I look at things that seemed non-mathematical, like my arm and my hand, the more mathematical it turns out to be. Could it be that our world also then is really just as mathematical as the computer game reality?”
  • Source: Youtube The Great Math Mystery - Documentary posted by Aerospace Engineering 2017-03-03.
Keywords: Seem_quotes Look_quotes Observation_quotes Mathematics_quotes Arm_quotes Head_quotes World_quotes Reality_quotes Computation_quotes Computer_quotes Game_quotes Closer_quotes Non-mathematical_quotes Hand_quotes

Quantum Impact

“We virtually ignore the astonishing range of scientific and practical applications that quantum mechanics undergirds: today an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. gross national product is based on inventions made possible by quantum mechanics, from semiconductors in computer chips to lasers in compact-disc players, magnetic resonance imaging in hospitals, and much more.”
  • Source: Max Tegmark and John Archibald Wheeler; Scientific American, February 2001
Keywords: Virtual_quotes Ignore_quotes Astonishment_quotes Range_quotes Science_quotes Practical_quotes Application_quotes Quantum_quotes Mechanics_quotes Physics_quotes Undergird_quotes Today_quotes GDP_quotes Invention_quotes Possibility_quotes Semiconductor_quotes Computer_quotes Chip_quotes Laser_quotes CD_quotes Magnetic_quotes Resonance_quotes Image_quotes Hospital_quotes Estimate_quotes

Computer Game

“If I were a character in a computer game, I would also discover eventually that the rules seemed completely rigid and mathematical. That just reflects the computer code in which it was written.”
  • Source: Max Tegmark and John Archibald Wheeler; Scientific American, February 2001
Keywords: Character_quotes Computer_quotes Game_quotes Discover_quotes Rule_quotes Rigid_quotes Mathematics_quotes Reflect_quotes Code_quotes Write_quotes

Alan_Turing

Digital Computer

“A digital computer can usually be regarded as consisting of three parts: One, store. Two, executive unit. Three, control.”
  • Source: From the paper entitled “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” by Alan Turing. Published in 1936 in “Mind”, volume 49, number 236.
Keywords: Digital_quotes Computer_quotes Regard_quotes Consist_quotes Part_quotes Store_quotes Executive_quotes Unit_quotes Control_quotes

Can Machines Think

“The question, ‘Can machines think?’ should be replaced by ‘Are there imaginable digital computers which would do well in the imitation game?’... The original question, ‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion.”
  • Source: From the paper entitled “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” by Alan Turing. Published in 1950 in “Mind”, volume 49, number 236.
Keywords: Turing(topic)_quotes Machine_quotes Question_quotes Can_quotes Think_quotes Replace_quotes Imagine_quotes Digital_quotes Computer_quotes Well_quotes Imitation_quotes Game_quotes Original_quotes Believe_quotes Meaningless_quotes Deserve_quotes Discussion_quotes

Shannon_Vallor

Computer Does

“The computer did precisely what we told it to do, just not what we thought we had told it to do. Much of software engineering is simply figuring out how to close the gap between those two things.”
  • Source: From the book “The AI Mirror” by Shannon Vallor. Published 2024 by Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0197759066. Chapter 2, page 45.
Keywords: Computer_quotes Precision_quotes Told_quotes Do_quotes Thought_quotes Software_quotes Engineering_quotes Simple_quotes Figure_quotes Close_quotes Gap_quotes Between_quotes Requirements_quotes

William_E_Vaughan

Really Foul Things Up

“To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer.”

Keywords: Error_quotes Humanity_quotes Foul_quotes Computer_quotes Mistake_quotes Automation_quotes Require_quotes

Gerald_Weinberg

Fisher's Fundamental Theorem

“Fisher's Fundamental Theorem states — in terms appropriate to the present context — that the better adapted a system is to a particular environment, the less adaptable it is to new environments. By stretching our imagination a bit, we can see how this might apply to computer programs as well.”
  • Source: Chapter 2. Weinberg, G. M. (2011). The Psychology of Computer Programming (Silver anniversary edition) | 1971. Weinberg & Weinberg.
Keywords: Fundamental_quotes Theorem_quotes System_quotes Environment_quotes Adaptability_quotes Imagination_quotes Computer_quotes Program_quotes Programming_quotes Better_quotes Particular_quotes Stretch_quotes Bit_quotes Might_quotes Law_quotes Fisher(topic)_quotes

Stephen_Wolfram

Quantum Computing

“The basic idea of quantum computing... is to do different computations in parallel along different possible threads of history. But the key issue is then how to corral those threads of history together to figure out a definite answer for the computation... The preliminary indication is that at least at a formal level, quantum computers aren’t going to come out ahead.”
Keywords: Quantum_quotes Computing_quotes Computation_quotes Different_quotes Parallel_quotes Possible_quotes Thread_quotes History_quotes Key_quotes Issue_quotes Corral_quotes Together_quotes Figure_quotes Definite_quotes Answer_quotes Preliminary_quotes Indication_quotes Least_quotes Formal_quotes Level_quotes Ahead_quotes Computer_quotes

Shoshana_Zuboff

Advent of the Smart Machine

“Should the advent of the smart machine be taken as an invitation to relax the demands upon human comprehension and critical judgment? Does the massive diffusion of computer technology throughout our workplaces necessarily entail an equally dramatic loss of meaningful employment opportunities? Must the new electronic milieu engender a world in which individuals have lost control over their daily work lives?”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 5 (Introduction). ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Computer_quotes Comprehension_quotes Judgment_quotes Technology_quotes Workplace_quotes Meaning_quotes Purpose_quotes Employment_quotes Control_quotes Smart_quotes Machine_quotes Advent_quotes Invitation_quotes Relax_quotes Human_quotes Critical_quotes Massive_quotes Diffusion_quotes Dramatic_quotes Loss_quotes Opportunity_quotes Electronic_quotes Milieu_quotes Engender_quotes World_quotes Individual_quotes Lost_quotes Work_quotes Daily_quotes Life_quotes

World Lost or Gained

'“There is a world to be lost and a world to be gained. Choices that appear to be merely technical will redefine our lives together at work. This means more than simply contemplating the implications or consequences of a new technology. It means that a powerful new technology, such as that represented by the computer, fundamentally reorganizes the infrastructure of our material world. It eliminates former alternatives. It creates new possibilities. It necessitates fresh choices.“
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 5 (Introduction). ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: World_quotes Loss_quotes Gain_quotes Decision_quotes Choice_quotes Technology_quotes Work_quotes Employment_quotes Consequence_quotes Contemplation_quotes Power_quotes Computer_quotes Material_quotes Infrastructure_quotes Alternative_quotes Possibility_quotesEliminate_quotes Reorganize_quotes Fresh_quotes

Deskilling

“While it is true that computer-based automation continues to displace the human body and its know-how (a process that has come to be known as deskilling), the informating power of the technology simultaneously creates pressure for a profound reskilling.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 57. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Automation_quotes Body_quotes Knowledge_quotes Deskilling_quotes Informating_quotes Technology_quotes Reskilling_quotes Skill_quotes True_quotes Computer_quotes Base_quotes Displace_quotes Human_quotes Know-how_quotes Process_quotes Power_quotes Pressure_quotes

Computers Over People

“When managers express a preference for computers over people, the effects find their way into every corner of the worker's mind.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 268. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Management_quotes Preference_quotes People_quotes Computer_quotes Worker_quotes Mind_quotes Express_quotes Effect_quotes Find_quotes Way_quotes Corner_quotes

Panopticon Recording

“Information systems that translate, record, and display human behavior can provide the computer age version of universal transparency with a degree of illumination that would have exceeded even Bentham's most outlandish fantasies. Such systems can become information panopticons that, freed from the constraints of space and time, do not depend upon the physical arrangement of buildings or the laborious record keeping of industrial administration. They do not require the mutual presence of objects of observation. They do not even require the presence of an observer. Information systems can automatically and continuously record almost anything their designers want to capture, regardless of the specific intentions brought to the design process or the motives that guide data interpretation and utilization.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 322. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Panopticon_quotes Information_quotes System_quotes Translation_quotes Display_quotes Computer_quotes Surveillance_quotes Universal_quotes Transparency_quotes Illumination_quotes Fantasy_quotes Constraint_quotes Time_quotes Space_quotes Dependency_quotes Physical_quotes Arrangement_quotes Administration_quotes Building_quotes Industrial_quotes Object_quotes Observation_quotes Automation_quotes Record_quotes Design_quotes Capture_quotes Intentional_quotes Process_quotes Motivation_quotes Guidance_quotes Interpretation_quotes Utilization_quotes Human_quotes Behavior_quotes Provide_quotes Age_quotes Version_quotes Free_quotes Laborious_quotes Keep_quotes Require_quotes Presense_quotes Observer_quotes Continuous_quotes Designer_quotes Regardless_quotes Specific_quotes Data_quotes

Automated Evaluation

“The system automatically computed efficiency ratings for each worker by comparing the amount of time it took to complete a job had been priced. Such calculations with the amount of time for which it could have been generated only by a computer system, since 'we could never have enough clerks to compute these kinds of ratios.' The ratings were considered management information and were not accessible to the craftworkers. Many foremen cautioned against taking the ratings at face value. The most experienced craftsperson frequently was loaded with the most difficult assignments. That individual might show the worst efficiency rating simply because his or her assignments were the most complex and required more than the assigned time.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 331. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: System_quotes Automation_quotes Evaluation_quotes Efficiency_quotes Rating_quotes Time_quotes Calculation_quotes Computer_quotes Management_quotes Information_quotes Accessibility_quotes Transparency_quotes Worker_quotes Craft_quotes Supervision_quotes Surveillance_quotes Experience_quotes Difficulty_quotes Assignment_quotes Individuality_quotes Complexity_quotes Requirements_quotes Computation_quotes Compare_quotes Amount_quotes Job_quotes Price_quotes Clerk_quotes Ratio_quotes Craftworker_quotes Foremen_quotes Face_quotes Value_quotes Frequent_quotes Load_quotes Worse_quotes

Computer Dependency

“As managers use computerization to escape their dependency on workers' unique skills, both managers and workers alike become more dependent upon the computer system.”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 269. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Management_quotes Automation_quotes Computerization_quotes Dependency_quotes Worker_quotes Skill_quotes System_quotes Escape_quotes Unique_quotes Computer_quotes

Responsive and Responsible

“As work becomes computer mediated, it is difficult to distinguish responsibility from the work itself. Much of what now constitutes ‘work’ involves the mindfulness and intellective effort necessary for continual responsiveness at the interface. What, finally, is the difference between being responsive and being responsible?”
  • Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 296. ISBN:0465032125.
Keywords: Work_quotes Mediation_quotes Responsibility_quotes Responsive_quotes Mindfulness_quotes Intellectualism_quotes Interface_quotes Computer_quotes Difficult_quotes Distinguish_quotes Constitute_quotes Involve_quotes Effort_quotes Continual_quotes Difference_quotes
Retrieved from "https://motleybytes.com/wiki/index.php?title=Computer_quotes&oldid=47384"