Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. Quote

I have long enjoyed asking candidate programmers, Where is next November? If the question is too cryptic, then, Tell me about your mental model of the calendar. The really good programmers have strong spatial senses; they usually have geometric models of time; and they quite often understand the first question without elaboration. They have highly individualistic models.

Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.

I have long enjoyed asking candidate programmers, Where is next November? If the question is too cryptic, then, Tell me about your mental model of the calendar. The really good programmers have strong spatial senses; they usually have geometric models of time; and they quite often understand the first question without elaboration. They have highly individualistic models.

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About Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.

Frederick Phillips Brooks Jr. (April 19, 1931 – November 17, 2022) was an American computer architect, software engineer, and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the OS/360 software support package, then later writing candidly about those experiences in his seminal book The Mythical Man-Month.
In 1976, Brooks was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for "contributions to computer system design and the development of academic programs in computer sciences".
Brooks received many awards, including the National Medal of Technology in 1985 and the Turing Award in 1999.