Linus Torvalds: Quotes about thinking

Linus Torvalds is Finnish-American software engineer and hacker. Explore interesting quotes on thinking.

Linus Torvalds: 300 quotes28 likes

“Most days I wake up thinking I'm the luckiest bastard alive.”

2000s, (2001)

“Security people are often the black-and-white kind of people that I can't stand. I think the OpenBSD crowd is a bunch of masturbating monkeys, in that they make such a big deal about concentrating on security to the point where they pretty much admit that nothing else matters to them.”

Linus Torvalds

Linux 2.6.25.10, 2008-07-15, Torvalds, Linus, 2008-07-16 http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/706950, 2000s, 2008

“(In answer to the question: In the extreme case, if it was just you doing all the code, and the rest of the world quietly used it, would it make sense to give it away free? Unless you're particularly grateful for other free things you've got off the Net, would the answer be No?":)

I don't necessarily think so. It might be true in certain niche areas, but almost any project will give a developer that "feel good" feeling when he has users and he feels he is doing something worthwhile. I really don't think you need all that much "quid pro quo" in programming - most of the good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.”

Linus Torvalds

First Monday Interview with Linus Torvalds: What motivates free software developers?, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, interviewer, 1998‐03-02, 2013-06-02 http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/583/504, 1990s, 1995-99

“Some people have told me they don't think a fat penguin really embodies the grace of Linux, which just tells me they have never seen an angry penguin charging at them in excess of 100 mph. They'd be a lot more careful about what they say if they had.”

Linus Torvalds

Post, comp.os.linux.announce newsgroup, Google Groups, 1996-06-09, Torvalds, Linus, 2006-08-28 http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=cola-liw-834355743-12037-0%40liw.clinet.fi, 1990s, 1995-99

“I'm a bastard. I have absolutely no clue why people can ever think otherwise. Yet they do. People think I'm a nice guy, and the fact is that I'm a scheming, conniving bastard who doesn't care for any hurt feelings or lost hours of work, if it just results in what I consider to be a better system. And I'm not just saying that. I'm really not a very nice person. I can say "I don't care" with a straight face, and really mean it.”

Linus Torvalds

Message to linux-kernel mailing list, 2000-09-06, Torvalds, Linus, 2007-05-28 http://lkml.org/lkml/2000/9/6/65, 2000s, 2000-04

“I was 21 at the time, so I was young, but I had already programmed for half my life, basically. And every project before that had been completely personal and it was a revelation when people just started commenting, started giving feedback on your code. And even before they started giving code back, that was, I think, one of the big moments where I said, "I love other people!"”

Linus Torvalds

Don't get me wrong -- I'm actually not a people person. Torvalds, Linus, 2016-02-17, <nowiki>Linus Torvalds: The mind behind Linux</nowiki>, 2016-04-08 http://www.ted.com/talks/linus_torvalds_the_mind_behind_linux/, 2010s, 2016

“I don't respect people unless I think they deserve the respect. There are people who think that respect is something that should be given, and I happen to be one of the people who is perfectly happy saying no; respect should be earned. And without being earned, you don't get it. It's really that simple.”

Linus Torvalds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mg5_gxNXTo

DebConf 14: Q&A with Linus Torvalds

DebConf 2014 Portland

Youtube/Google

14min35

2014

Daniel Gillmore, Ana Guerrerero López.
2010s, 2014

“The main reason there are no raw devices [in Linux] is that I personally think that raw devices are a stupid idea.”

Linus Torvalds

Message, linux-kernel mailing list, 1996-10-17, IU, Torvalds, Linus, 2017-04-25 http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610.2/0030.html, 1990s, 1995-99

“…git actually has a simple design, with stable and reasonably well-documented data structures. In fact, I'm a huge proponent of designing your code around the data, rather than the other way around, and I think it's one of the reasons git has been fairly successful […] I will, in fact, claim that the difference between a bad programmer and a good one is whether he considers his code or his data structures more important. Bad programmers worry about the code. Good programmers worry about data structures and their relationships.”

Linus Torvalds

Message to Git mailing list, Torvalds, Linus, 2006-06-27, 2006-08-28 http://lwn.net/Articles/193245/, 2000s, 2006

“First off, I'm actually perfectly well off. I live in a good-sized house, with a nice yard, with deer occasionally showing up and eating the roses (my wife likes the roses more, I like the deer more, so we don't really mind). I've got three kids, and I know I can pay for their education. What more do I need? The thing is, being a good programmer actually pays pretty well; being acknowledged as being world-class pays even better. I simply didn't need to start a commercial company. And it's just about the least interesting thing I can even imagine. I absolutely hate paperwork. I couldn't take care of employees if I tried. A company that I started would never have succeeded – it's simply not what I'm interested in! So instead, I have a very good life, doing something that I think is really interesting, and something that I think actually matters for people, not just me. And that makes me feel good.”

Linus Torvalds

-- 8/15/07 -- http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/TechGovernment/News.asp?id=44682&PageMem=2 --
Attributed

“I like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended.”

Linus Torvalds

2010s, Audience Q&A following interview panel at Aalto University Center, 2012

“I've actually felt slightly uncomfortable at TED for the last two days, because there's a lot of vision going on, right? And I am not a visionary. I do not have a five-year plan. I'm an engineer. And I think it's really -- I mean -- I'm perfectly happy with all the people who are walking around and just staring at the clouds and looking at the stars and saying, "I want to go there." But I'm looking at the ground, and I want to fix the pothole that's right in front of me before I fall in. This is the kind of person I am.”

Linus Torvalds

2010s, 2016

“You see. I don't think any new thoughts. I think thoughts that other people have thought, and I rearrange them. But Sara, she thinks thoughts that never were before.”

Linus Torvalds

Torvalds to his mother, about his sister
2000s, (2001)

“I may make jokes about Microsoft at times, but at the same time, I think the Microsoft hatred is a disease.”

Linus Torvalds

Microsoft Patches Linux; Linus Responds, 2009-06-22, Torvalds, Linus, 2009-06-26 http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7439/1.html, 2000s, 2009

“Why don't we write code that just works? Or absent a "just works" set of patches, why don't we revert to code that has years of testing? This kind of "I broke things, so now I will jiggle things randomly until they unbreak" is not acceptable. […] Don't just make random changes. There really are only two acceptable models of development: "think and analyze" or "years and years of testing on thousands of machines."”

Linus Torvalds

Those two really do work. Torvalds, Linus, 2011-04-13, Linux 2.6.39-rc3, 2011-04-21 http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/1126136, 2010s, 2011

“Toto, I don't think we're talking white-socks-and-sandals any more.”

Linus Torvalds

Torvalds, 2011-03-01, pearls before swine, 2011-03-01 http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2011/02/pearls-before-swine.html, Torvalds contemplating his appearance at an Oscar Party. 2010s, 2011

“I personally just encourage people to switch to KDE.This "users are idiots, and are confused by functionality" mentality of Gnome is a disease. If you think your users are idiots, only idiots will use it. I don't use Gnome, because in striving to be simple, it has long since reached the point where it simply doesn't do what I need it to do.Please, just tell people to use KDE.”

Linus Torvalds

Message to usability@gnome.org mailing list, 2005-12-12, 2006-08-28, Torvalds, Linus http://mail.gnome.org/archives/usability/2005-December/msg00021.html, 2000s, 2005

“Me, I just don't care about proprietary software. It's not "evil" or "immoral," it just doesn't matter. I think that Open Source can do better, and I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is by working on Open Source, but it's not a crusade – it's just a superior way of working together and generating code.”

Linus Torvalds

2000s, 2007

“I think people can generally trust me, but they can trust me exactly because they know they don't have to.”

Linus Torvalds

Message to Linux kernel mailing list, 2006-09-22, Torvalds, Linus, 2008-06-07 http://lkml.org/lkml/2006/9/22/319, 2000s, 2006

“Nobody should start to undertake a large project. You start with a small trivial project, and you should never expect it to get large. If you do, you'll just overdesign and generally think it is more important than it likely is at that stage. Or worse, you might be scared away by the sheer size of the work you envision. So start small, and think about the details. Don't think about some big picture and fancy design. If it doesn't solve some fairly immediate need, it's almost certainly over-designed. And don't expect people to jump in and help you. That's not how these things work. You need to get something half-way useful first, and then others will say "hey, that almost works for me", and they'll get involved in the project.”

Linus Torvalds

Source: Linux Times, 2004-10-25 http://web.archive.org/web/20050404020308/http://www.linuxtimes.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=145,