Mystery of the Quote: Who Said "Science is Everything We Understand?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the attribution of a quote: "Science is everything we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else." Participants are exploring who originally said this quote, debating between David Knuth and Donald Knuth, and considering the implications of the attribution.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that most sources attribute the quote to David Knuth, while others attribute it to Donald Knuth, leading to confusion about the correct attribution.
  • Another participant expresses uncertainty about the importance of knowing who said the quote, mentioning Donald Knuth's contributions to computer science.
  • A participant humorously claims to have said the quote, suggesting they may not be the original source.
  • Links to external resources are provided by participants, possibly to clarify the attribution or provide context.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on who originally said the quote, and there is a mix of opinions on the significance of the attribution.

Contextual Notes

The discussion lacks definitive sources to confirm the correct attribution and is dependent on varying interpretations of available information.

0rthodontist
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I have found a quote I've been looking for. It's the lower one in my signature right now: "Science is everything we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else."

However I don't know just who said it. Most web sources say David Knuth, but some say Donald Knuth. Of the two, Donald is a lot more famous, but I don't know if the quote is attributed to him by a minority of sources because Donald is famous, David said it, and some people were confused, or if the majority of sources unthinkingly quoted one original source that said David and it was really Donald who said it. There is a David Knuth who works in technology, according to Google. Anyone know who said this quote?
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
Does it really matter who said it...

i have read the book of D.E.Knuth..has great contribution in computer science,,especially Algorithms...dont know he is which one out of these two
 
I did...

...but I probably wasn't the first... :rolleyes:
 
Does this help?
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~wilf/foreword.pdf
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jimmysnyder said:
Does this help?
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~wilf/foreword.pdf
Yep, that helps a lot!:smile:
 
Last edited by a moderator:

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