Danny Hillis

Computers are the most complex objects we human beings have ever created, but in a fundamental sense they are remarkably simple.

The magic of a computer lies in its ability to become almost anything you can imagine, as long as you can explain exactly what that is.

The computer is not just an advanced calculator or camera or paintbrush; rather, it is a device that accelerates and extends our processes of thought.

With the right programming, a computer can become a theater, a musical instrument, a reference book, a chess opponent. No other entity in the world except a human being has such an adaptable, universal nature.

Anyone who has ever written a program knows that telling a computer what you want it to do is not as easy as it sounds. Every detail of the computer’s desired operation must be precisely described. For instance, if you tell an accounting program to bill your clients for the amount that each owes, then the computer will send out a weekly bill for $0.00 to clients who owe nothing.

A skilled programmer is like a poet who can put into words those ideas that others find inexpressible.

Every computer language has its Shakespeares, and it is a joy to read their code. A well-written computer program possesses style, finesse, even humor—and a clarity that rivals the best prose.

It turns out that there is no algorithm for examining a program and determining whether or not it is fatally infected with an endless loop. Moreover, it’s not that no one has yet discovered such an algorithm; rather, no such algorithm is possible.

The class of problems that are computable by a digital computer apparently includes every problem that is computable by any kind of device.

One of the greatest joys in computer programming is discovering a new, faster, more efficient algorithm for doing something — particularly if a lot of well-respected people have come up with worse solutions.