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acangiano
on Nov 17, 2010
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E.W.Dijkstra: On the foolishness of "natural langu...
"When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."
— Arthur C. Clarke's First Law
lemming
on Nov 17, 2010
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To be fair, he doesn't so much say it's impossible as say it's a bad idea.
bh42
on Nov 17, 2010
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Exactly. The grandparent's comment is anything but relevant. While I do agree with it, it is clear it has nothing do with this.
gryan
on Nov 17, 2010
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Arthur C. Clarke: Science fiction writer.
E.W. Dijkstra: Actual computer scientist.
jmaygarden
on Nov 17, 2010
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Clarke was no technical slouch!
http://lakdiva.org/clarke/1945ww/
jdp23
on Nov 17, 2010
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Dijkstra said this in 1978, so he was only 48 at the time.
joshes
on Nov 17, 2010
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One could argue that he was an elder with respect to his field at that time.
lkozma
on Nov 17, 2010
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This holds for everyone, not just elderly scientists. Impossibility proofs are by their nature more difficult than existence proofs.
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— Arthur C. Clarke's First Law