Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.

More Quotes by Edsger Dijkstra

Perfecting oneself is as much unlearning as it is learning.

Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a factor that decides between success and failure.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.

The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.

Programming is one of the most difficult branches of applied mathematics; the poorer mathematicians had better remain pure mathematicians.

It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.