People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many pe... — Donald Knuth

People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on each other, like a wall of mini stones.

Author: Donald Knuth

Insight: Most breakthroughs feel like lightning strikes from one brilliant mind, but they're actually the result of thousands of small fixes and improvements stacked together. Every app you use today worked because someone fixed what broke yesterday. That's oddly comforting—you don't need genius to matter, just persistence.

Source: Communications of the ACM, December 1974

People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on each other, like a wall of mini stones.

Donald KnuthCommunications of the ACM, December 1974

Insight

Most breakthroughs feel like lightning strikes from one brilliant mind, but they're actually the result of thousands of small fixes and improvements stacked together. Every app you use today worked because someone fixed what broke yesterday. That's oddly comforting—you don't need genius to matter, just persistence.

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Donald Knuth

Donald Knuth is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is renowned for his contributions to the development of the analysis of algorithms and the creation of the typesetting system TeX, as well as his multivolume work "The Art of Computer Programming," a seminal work in the field of computer science.

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