Programming is the art of algorithm design and the craft of debugging errant code.

Computer programming has always been a self-taught, maverick occupation.

With code, what it means is what it does. It doesn't express, not really. It's a very bounded conversation. And writing is not bounded. That's what's hard about it.

What I hope is that those with the knowledge of the humanities break into the closed society where code gets written: invade it.

Multitasking, throughput, efficiency - these are excellent machine concepts, useful in the design of computer systems. But are they principles that nurture human thought and imagination?

Reading code is like reading all things written: You have to scribble, make a mess, remind yourself that the work comes to you through trial and error and revision.