Abbie Hoffman once said. Evolutionary acceleration is forcing us to the point where each will have to take responsibility for which reality we accept.

— Robert Anton Wilson, Prometheus Rising

Now, in the face of that ignorance and ambiguity, we seem to have two schools of thought. On the one hand, we have those who proclaim each new idea that comes along as the solution to software productivity. First it was structured methods, then it was 4GLs, then it was CASE tools, and next it was object orientation. These people, I would assert, are the level one thinkers. Some perceive them as strong, because they see a solution clearly and move swiftly toward it. Others see them as simplistic, for they ignore the complexity in the problem and seem unable to accept the ambiguity.

— Robert L. Glass and Tom DeMarco, Software Creativity

To resolve a dissonance, one factor or another contributing to it must be made to yield. Which factor depends on the situation, but, generally speaking, it will not be the person’s self-image. That manages to be preserved through the most miraculous arguments.

— Gerald Weinberg, The Psychology of Computer Programming

Beyond craftsmanship lies invention, and it is here that lean, spare, fast programs are born. Almost always these are the result of strategic breakthrough rather than tactical cleverness.

— Frederick P. Brooks Jr., The Mythical Man-Month