42 Grace Hopper Quotes

Grace Hopper quotes

1. From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.

2. To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge.

3. A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things.

4. It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.

5. I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, 'What are you?'

6. In total desperation, I called over to the engineering building, and I said, 'Please cut off a nanosecond and send it over to me.'

7. At the end of about a week, I called back and said, 'I need something to compare this to. Could I please have a microsecond?'

   Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.

8. Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems.

   Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.

9. I had a running compiler and nobody would touch it. [:] they carefully told me, computers could only do arithmetic; they could not do programs.

10. I've always been more interested in the future than in the past.

11. The wonderful thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.

    Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.

12. The most dangerous phrase in the language is, 'We've always done it this way.'

13. You manage things, you lead people.

14. On COBOL: 'But Grace, then anyone will be able to write programs!'

1. I've received many honors and I'm grateful for them; but I've already received the highest award I'll ever receive, and that has been the privilege and honor of serving very proudly in the United States Navy.

2. No computer is ever going to ask a new, reasonable question. It takes trained people to do that.

3. If one ox could not do the job they did not try to grow a bigger ox, but used two oxen. When we need greater computer power, the answer is not to get a bigger computer, but . . .to build systems of computers and operate them in parallel.

4. You manage things and lead people.

5. If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It's much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.

6. Some day, on the corporate balance sheet, there will be an entry which reads, "Information"; for in most cases, the information is more valuable than the hardware which processes it.

7. The only phrase I've ever disliked is, 'Why, we've always done it that way.' I always tell young people, 'Go ahead and do it. You can always apologize later.'

8. If you want my ghost just say ' We've always done it that way.' and i will haunt you for 24 hours.

9. It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

10. It's always easier to apologize for something you've already done than to get approval for it in advance.

11. We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge.

12. I am now going to make you a gift that will stay with you the rest of your life. For the rest of your life, every time you say, "We've always done it that way," my ghost will appear and haunt you for twenty-four hours.

13. If it isn't bolted down, bring it home.

14. Developing a compiler was a logical move; but in matters like this, you don't run against logic - you run against people who can't change their minds.

15. I need something to compare this to. Could I please have a microsecond?

16. If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It is much easier to apologise than it is to get permission.

17. I'm totally against women in combat, because we live in a culture and a society that imposes on every man the concept of women and children first...If you had a man and a woman trying to go through some dangerous woods, the man's instinct would be to protect the woman. Therefore you weaken the man.

18. At any given moment, there is always a line representing what your boss will believe. If you step over it, you will not get your budget. Go as close to that line as you can.

19. I will not take what you need to give me. I will take what you want to give me.

20. You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington.

21. It is easier to apologize than to get permission.

22. If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it a coincidence. But do it a third time and you've just proven a natural law!

23. Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one's superiors; care for one's crew.

24. You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.

25. One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.

26. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.

27. Humans are allergic to change.

28. It's easier to apologize than ask for permission.