Is anyone surprised at being cold in winter? At being sick at sea? Or at being jostled in the street? The mind is strong enough to bear those evils for which it is prepared

— Seneca, On Anger

…the devil is in the details—and the angels are too.

— Daniel Jackson, The Essence of Software

Quality is free, but only to those who are willing to pay heavily for it.

— Tom DeMarco, Tim Lister, Peopleware

To hope, is to act as if you await the possibility of good

— Søren Kierkegaard, The Works of Love

My natural tendency to believe that simple is good has been reinforced. Over and over I see additions that are more complex proving themselves to be detrimental in the long—or short—run. When I’m designing stuff, I pay close attention to my “complexity meter:” when it starts bumping into the red zone, it’s time to redesign stuff.

— Peter Seibel, Coders at Work