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quotes

some favorite quotes

  • wei cheuh: subdue the mind & abide in nothing, respect elders, be kind to juniors, be true in all endeavors & live harmoniously with all life
  • linus torvalds: I built linux & give away linux because unix was too expensive & i built git because subversion sucks
  • einstein: given an hour I spend 55m on defining the problem & 5 on the solution
  • sunryu suzuki: everything is changing
  • richard feynman: particles attract until they get close and the negative electrons repel
  • richard feynman: if you cannot explain something in simple terms you do not understand it
  • haikuin: there is no mirror
  • unnamed zen master: seek nothing, cling to nothing and expect nothing
  • elon: the best part is no part, do not optimize something that shouldn't exist, requires suck especially if the person that wrote them was an expert

Some quotes & traditions I try to model:

"If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well enough.", Richard Feynman

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", Leonardo da Vinci

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.", Albert Einstein

Linus Torvalds

  • "Talk is cheap. Show me the code."
  • "Software is like sex: it's better when it's free."
  • "Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done."
  • "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow."
  • "Only wimps use tape backup. REAL men just upload their important stuff on ftp and let the rest of the world mirror it."
  • "In real open source, you have the right to control your own destiny."
  • "I am not a visionary. I'm an engineer. I don't have any lofty goals."

These quotes are a reflection of Torvalds' pragmatism, his sense of humor, and his commitment to open source software. He is a respected figure in the tech community, and his quotes are often cited as inspiration for other programmers and engineers.

Here is another one of my favorite Linus Torvalds quotes:

"The most important thing is to just do it. Don't think about it too much. Just start moving forward."

This quote is a reminder that it is important to take action, even if we are not sure what we are doing. The best way to learn is by doing, and by making mistakes along the way.