WIST Quotations

Spencer, Henry -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Belief is no substitute for arithmetic.

Henry Spencer (b. 1955) Canadian computer scientist, space enthusiast
(Attributed)

Cf. "Anecdote is no substitute for arithmatic," cited as a Hebrew Proverb.

Spencer, Henry -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:56:22 +0000

Reinventing the wheel is bad not only because it wastes time, but because reinvented wheels are often square. There is an almost irresistible temptation to economize on reinvention time by taking a shortcut to a crude and poorly-thought-out version, which in the long run often turns out to be false economy.

Henry Spencer (b. 1955) Canadian computer scientist, space enthusiast
(Attributed)

Quoted in E. Raymond, The Art of UNIX Programming, ch. 16 (2004)

Spencer, Henry -- The Ten Commandments for C Programmers (Annotated Ed.) (1992)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Many customs in this life persist because they ease friction and promote productivity as a result of universal agreement, and whether they are precisely the optimal choices is much less important.

Henry Spencer (b. 1955) Canadian computer scientist, space enthusiast
The Ten Commandments for C Programmers (Annotated Ed.) (1992)