326 Quotes by Linus Torvalds

I don't have any authority over Linux other than this notion that I know what I'm doing.

I don't see myself as a visionary at all.

Language is one of the fundamental principles of human understanding. It is the way we interact with each other and how we grasp the world we live in. Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.

I don't expect to go hungry if I decide to leave the University. Resume: Linux looks pretty good in many places.

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.

I see myself as a technical person who chose a great project and a great way of doing that project.

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.

The thing with Linux is that the developers themselves are actually customers too: that has always been an important part of Linux.

I am pragmatic. That which works, works, and theory can go screw itself. However, my pragmatism also extends to maintainability, which is why I also want it done well.