Quotes about technology
114 quotes from 61 people
Thomas Edison1847–1931On his research for the electric light bulb, as quoted in “Talks with Edison” by George Parsons Lathrop, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 80 (February 1890)
John von Neumann1903–1957“Various Techniques Used in Connection with Random Digits”, in Monte Carlo Method (1951), ed. A. S. Householder et al.
Richard Feynman1918–1988Rogers Commission Report (1986)
Havelock Ellis1859–1939Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922), Ch. 7
Freeman Dyson1923–2020Infinite in All Directions (1988), Ch. 8: Quick Is Beautiful, p. 135.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry1900–1944Terre des Hommes (1939)If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
Charles Lindbergh1902–1974“Is Civilization Progress?” in Reader’s Digest (July 1964)Random numbers should not be generated with a method chosen at random.
Donald Knuthborn 1938The Art of Computer Programming (1968–2011), Vol. II, Seminumerical AlgorithmsI define UNIX as 30 definitions of regular expressions living under one roof.
Donald Knuthborn 1938Digital Typography, ch. 33, p. 649 (1999)Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it.
Donald Knuthborn 1938Closing line of a memo, “Notes on the van Emde Boas construction of priority deques: An instructive use of recursion” (1977)Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.
Douglas Adams1952–2001The Salmon of Doubt (2002)
Nikola Tesla1856–1943“Experiments With Alternate Currents Of High Potential And High Frequency” (February 1892)
Herbert Marcuse1898–1979One-Dimensional Man (1964), p. 159
Marshall McLuhan1911–1980Understanding Media (1964) (p. 8)
Vint Cerfborn 1943“Your Life: Vinton Cerf” (2016), p. 28