John von Neumann

"In operating a computing machine, it is far better to have a small idea and to implement it carefully and correctly than to have a large idea and to implement it carelessly."

"The task of a talented person is often to point the way to the future."

"If you know what you're going to say when you see a problem, you're dead."

"Technology is not something you adopt, it is something you apply."

"Nature operates on different principles than those which man has so far discovered."

"The speed of convergence of iterative mathematical procedures can often be increased by mathematical cunning."

"In mathematics, you often substitute one mystery for another."

"The digital computer has already made us realize some of the ambitions that our generation had about automata."

"Anything that can be described can be programmed."

"Life is a process of acquiring complexity from simplicity."

"The first draft of anything is garbage."

"In science, it is not enough to think of an important problem. One must also know how to attack it."

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change."

"You have to have the courage of your convictions to advance your ideas."

"The complexity of the universe cannot be reduced below a certain level."

"Mathematical sciences have ever been the object of my delight."

"The fact that all mathematics is symbolic logic is one of the greatest discoveries of our age."

"Science is practical philosophy, philosophy is theoretical science."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that the very existence of the world is a form of their enslavement."

"Memory is essential for holding, recording, and recalling ideas."

"The future of the world depends on what we do with our scientific knowledge."

"If you have succeeded in getting the attention of the community, you have started right."

"A large part of mathematics which has now proved useful was discovered by poets and artists."

"The truth of a mathematical statement should be judged by its consequences, not by its origins."

"I think computers would be absolutely essential for anybody who is trying to do anything interesting."

"The question of whether a machine can think is about as relevant as the question of whether a submarine can swim."

"The key to success is in the follow-through, the persistence to see something through to completion."

"Understanding is a two-way street; both the teacher and the student must be willing to learn."

"One cannot diminish ones intellectual stature by the display of a little humility."

"The test of understanding is the ability to use a concept in a new situation."