These quotations have had a profound influence on me. Their value lies not only in the solutions and perspectives they present, but in the reminder that others—often our heros—have thought deeply about the same problems. That recognition is both heartening and humbling.
"What mysterious forces precede the appearance of the processes, promote their growth and ramification, stimulate the corresponding migration of the cells and fibres in predetermined directions, as if in obedience to a skillfully arranged architectural plan, and finally establish those protoplasmic kisses, the intercellular articulations, which seem to constitute the final ecstasy of an epic love story?"
— Ramón y Cajal
"Don't worry if you're winning or losing the fight. Just keep attacking!"
— Connor Jerzak
Esse quam videri
— Marcus Tullius Cicero in Laelius de Amicitia
"I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
— Richard Feynman
"It's hard to do a really good job on anything you don't think about in the shower."
"Premature optimization is the root of evil."
— Don Knuth
"What ultimately matters in this course is not so much where you end up relative to your classmates but where you end up relative to yourself when you began."
— David J. Malan (CS 50)