There are a few quotes I think of when thinking about computer design. These are not specifically about computers, but I think they are appropriate.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French writer (1900 – 1944)
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs -[BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998,]
Often contentious topics can labour under the assumption that it makes any difference in the first place.
DEVENTER (n) A decision that’s very hard to make because so little depends on it, such as which way to walk around a park — The Deeper Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd.
Everyone can learn something from your mistakes
Mistakes – It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others. — Ashleigh Brilliant on on Despair.com
Remember to keep what you are doing relevant
Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done. ~Andy Rooney
Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other. ~Bill Gates
Making things simple and clear should be much of the design effort. Not just something which works.
A computer will do what you tell it to do, but that may be much different from what you had in mind. ~Joseph Weizenbaum
Doing very little, often enough, can quickly add up.
The inside of a computer is as dumb as hell but it goes like mad! ~Richard Feynman
Reference: Quotes relating to System Design from our JCG partner Peter Lawrey at the Vanilla Java blog.
