Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
Pablo PicassoRead
The only way to make software secure, reliable, and fast is to make it small.
Interpretation
Simplifying software can enhance its security, reliability, and performance.
Andrew S. Tanenbaum emphasizes that small, manageable software components are crucial for achieving higher levels of security, reliability, and speed. By reducing complexity, developers can more easily identify and address vulnerabilities, bugs, and performance bottlenecks, leading to better overall software quality.
In practice
In a software engineering seminar, mentioning this quote can underscore the importance of minimalistic design.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
Artificial intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilization a billion-fold.
Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.
Machine learning is looking for patterns in data. If you start with racist data, you will end up with even more racist models. This is a real problem.
The space shuttle was often used as an example of why you shouldn't even attempt to make something reusable. But one failed experiment does not invalidate the greater goal. If that was the case, we'd never have had the light bulb.
The PC is the LSD of the '90s.
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