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I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot of fun. Of course, the paying customers got shafted every now and then, and after a while we began to take their complaints seriously. We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines. I don't think we are. I think we're responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house. I hope the field of computer science never loses its sense of fun. Above all, I hope we don't become missionaries. Don't feel as if you're Bible salesmen. The world has too many of those already. What you know about computing other people will learn. Don't feel as if the key to successful computing is only in your hands. What's in your hands, I think and hope, is intelligence: the ability to see the machine as more than when you were first led up to it, that you can make it more.

Alan Perlis#1

InnovationTechnologyEthicsFunHumorScience

About this quote

What does it mean?
Computer science should prioritize exploration and enjoyment over perfection and customer service. The field risks becoming preachy if experts think they alone control successful computing.
In plain terms
Keep computing fun and experimental rather than trying to be perfect or preachy.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize innovation and fun over rigid perfection in tech.

Where it applies

  • tech development
  • academic research
  • startup culture

Putting it to work

  • encourage playful experimentation
  • avoid preaching to users

Questions to consider

  • How do you maintain joy in technical work?
  • Should tech leaders act as missionaries?

Another view

Balancing fun with reliability is difficult in commercial software.

More from Alan Perlis

  1. We toast the Lisp programmer who pens his thoughts within nests of parentheses.

    Permalink to quote #2
  2. A picture is worth 10K words - but only those to describe the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described with pictures.

    Permalink to quote #3
  3. A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant.

    Permalink to quote #4

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