38 Inspirational Grace Hopper Quotes From The Computer Programmer And Real Admiral

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper was an early computer scientist and a Naval officer.

By the end of her service, she was one of the oldest serving officers in the United States Navy. Grace Hopper was a computer pioneer and was known for spearheading the age of computers and innovation.

She was a pioneer in the field of software development, computer programming, and in the implementation of programming languages. These Grace Hopper quotes are sure to ignite the passion for computing in you.

We have created this article, containing some great Grace Hopper quotes. This list of Grace Hopper quotes includes Grace Murray Hopper quotes from her days as a computer scientist and her role as a rear admiral. As a pioneer of computer programming, she is truly an inspirational woman, so sit back and enjoy these quotes from Grace Hopper.

For more inspiring quotes, you can also look at these champion quotes and Thurgood Marshall quotes.

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Grace Hopper earned a PhD and a master's degree in mathematics from Yale. She went on to become a computer scientist at Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp. Here she designed and invented the first ever compiler. Below we have compiled the best computer scientist Grace Hopper quotes.

1. "Either you use computers or you can't do the job."

- Grace Hopper.

2. “We’ve tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.”

-Grace Hopper.

3. “To me, programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge.”

-Grace Hopper.

4. “In pioneer days they used oxen for heavy pulling, and when one ox couldn’t budge a log, they didn’t try to grow a larger ox. We shouldn’t be trying for bigger computers, but for more systems of computers.”

-Grace Hopper.

5. “I’ve always been more interested in the future than in the past.”

-Grace Hopper.

6. "We do need to keep the records. But there isn't any reason for printing them. The next generation growing up with computers will change that."

-Grace Hopper.

7. "Developing a compiler was a logical move; but in matters like this, you don't run against logic — you run against people who can't change their minds."

-Grace Hopper.

8. “One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.”

-Grace Hopper.

9. "They told me computers could only do arithmetic."

-Grace Hopper.

10. "From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it."

-Grace Hopper.

11. "We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question."

- Grace Hopper.

12. "That's the real problem. Not the arithmetic but the interpretation."

- Grace Hopper.

13. "People are not 'well-behaved' mathematical functions."

- Grace Hopper.

14. "Even in a world of accelerating change, it is still difficult to convince people that the new ways of doing things can be better and cheaper."

- Grace Hopper.

15. "Please cut off a nanosecond and send it over to me."

- Grace Hopper.

16. "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission."

- Grace Hopper.

Here are some of Grace Hopper's most iconic quotes that will help you learn to manage and lead people. These are some inspiring Rear Admiral Grace Hopper quotes.

17. “Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up, and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.”

- Grace Hopper.

18. “A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

- Grace Hopper.

19. “If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it a coincidence. But do it a third time and you’ve just proven a natural law!”

- Grace Hopper.

20. “Manage things. Lead people.”

- Grace Hopper.

21. “If it isn’t bolted down, bring it home.”

- Grace Hopper.

22. "Kids will be using computers instead of memorizing their multiplication tables. This will give them more time to solve word problems, which is much more useful."

- Grace Hopper.

23. "Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, 'We've always done it this way.' I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise."

- Grace Hopper.

24. "I've received many honors and I'm grateful for them, but I've already received the highest award I'll ever receive, and that has been the privilege and honor of serving very proudly in the United States Navy."

- Grace Hopper.

25. "We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington."

- Grace Hopper.

26. "No innovation or standard should be rejected as too costly without careful evaluation of the cost of not doing it."

- Grace Hopper.

27. "There's something you learn in your first boot-camp or training camp: If they put you down somewhere with nothing to do, go to sleep—you don't know when you'll get any more."

- Grace Hopper.

Grace Hopper was a true pioneer, she developed the machine which would be hailed as the precursor to modern computing. In 2016, 24 years after her death, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Here is a compilation of Grace Hopper quotes from the later years of her life.

28. "I seem to do a lot of retiring."

- Grace Hopper.

29. “The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It’s simply larger than it needs to be.”

- Grace Hopper.

30. "At any given moment, there is always a line representing what your boss will believe. If you step over it, you will not get your budget. Go as close to that line as you can."

- Grace Hopper.

31. "The most damaging phrase in the language is: 'It's always been done that way.'"

- Grace Hopper.

32. "I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, 'What are you?"

- Grace Hopper.

33. "It is insufficient to plan on the past alone; the plan must be examined in the light of all possible future developments."

- Grace Hopper.

34. "Someday, on the corporate balance sheet, there will be an entry which reads, 'Information;' for in most cases, the information is more valuable than the hardware which processes it."

- Grace Hopper.

35. "A business' accounts receivable file is much more important than its accounts payable file."

- Grace Hopper.

36. "I’ve always objected to doing anything over again if I had already done it once."

- Grace Hopper.

37. "Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems."

- Grace Hopper.

38. "I didn't know what a billion was. I don't think most of those men downtown know what a billion is, either. And if you don't know what a billion is, how on earth do you know what a billionth is?"

- Grace Hopper.

39. "Everyone wants better answers faster."

- Grace Hopper.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Grace Hopper quotes, then why not take a look at these Charles Darwin quotes, or Emily Brontë quotes for more?

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