List of quotes
Some of my favorite quotes that stuck with me forever.
People
- Ethics is informal politics.
- Everything before the word “but” is bullshit.
- I don’t believe in zero-sum games. (Scott Alexander)
- People only exist when you need them.
Design
- Measured simply by numbers of users, the current leaders [in almost any field] will be mostly mediocre. Look at Windows. (Paul Graham)
- It is better to be technically elegant with a higher learning curve, than to be easy to use, and technically crap. (Aaron Griffin)
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. (George Orwell)
- Perfect is the enemy of good.
Processes
- The most competent people, with weak processes, will screw up. (Chris Peterson?)
- Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. (recounted by Dwight Eisenhower)
- Nobody should start to undertake a large project. You start with a small trivial project, and you should never expect it to get large. (Linus Torvalds)
- Practice energy management, not time management.
Advice
- I told him that he cannot see the future because there’s nothing there to see; it hasn’t been built, yet. (Chris Peterson)
- If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, I wouldn’t say anything. (Eric Lander, paraphrased1)
- Find what you love and let it kill you.
- Talk is cheap. Show me the code. (Linus Torvalds)
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From the USAMO 2021 awards ceremony. ↩