Richard Hamming
Richard Hamming
Richard Wesley Hammingwas an American mathematician whose work had many implications for computer engineering and telecommunications. His contributions include the Hamming code, the Hamming window, Hamming numbers, sphere-packing, and the Hamming distance...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth11 February 1915
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
mind luck favors
Luck favors the prepared mind.
art our-society essentials
Mathematics is not merely an idle art form, it is an essential part of our society.
hard-work important problem
If you don't work on important problems, it's not likely that you'll do important work.
science feet giants
Newton said, "If I have seen further than others, it is because I've stood on the shoulders of giants." These days we stand on each other's feet!
science men thinking
A parable: A man was examining the construction of a cathedral. He asked a stone mason what he was doing chipping the stones, and the mason replied, "I am making stones." He asked a stone carver what he was doing. "I am carving a gargoyle." And so it went, each person said in detail what they were doing. Finally he came to an old woman who was sweeping the ground. She said. "I am helping build a cathedral." ...Most of the time each person is immersed in the details of one special part of the whole and does not think of how what they are doing relates to the larger picture.
math numbers purpose
The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.
people time
If you read all the time what other people have done, you will the think the way they thought.
believe mathematics authority
In mathematics we do not appeal to authority, but rather you are responsible for what you believe.
good learn rather scientists system work
Good scientists will fight the system rather than learn to work with the system.
real men competition
The real problem is what can man and machine do together and not in competition.
thinking substitutes typing
Typing is no substitute for thinking.
opportunity thinking two
Knowledge and productivity are like compound interest. The more you know, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more you can do; the more you can do, the more the opportunity. I don`t want to give you a rate, but it is a very high rate. Given two people with exactly the same ability, the one person who manages day in and day out to get in one more hour of thinking will be tremendously more productive over a lifetime.
sports interesting intellectual
Mathematics is an interesting intellectual sport but it should not be allowed to stand in the way of obtaining sensible information about physical processes.
believe greatness errors
Most people like to believe something is or is not true. Great scientists tolerate ambiguity very well. They believe the theory enough to go ahead; they doubt it enough to notice the errors and faults so they can step forward and create the new replacement theory. If you believe too much you'll never notice the flaws; if you doubt too much you won't get started. It requires a lovely balance.