"Twenty-five years ago, the notion was you could create a general problem-solver software that could solve problems in many different domains. That just turned out to be totally wrong"
- Howard Gardner
About this Quote
This quote by Howard Gardner is referring to the idea that it was possible to develop a single software application that could solve any problem in any domain. This idea was popular 25 years earlier, but it has since been shown to be inaccurate. Instead, it has been found that various issues need various solutions, which a single software can not be utilized to fix all issues. This is because each issue needs a different technique and different tools to fix it. Therefore, it is not possible to produce a single software that can fix all issues. This quote works as a reminder that while it is possible to produce software that can solve specific issues, it is not possible to develop a single software application that can resolve all issues.
"Well, user feedback was excellent. Even when the software didn't work at all, there were few people who were avid users, and there were people who were just sending excellent feedback and excellent ideas"
"Since when has the world of computer software design been about what people want? This is a simple question of evolution. The day is quickly coming when every knee will bow down to a silicon fist, and you will all beg your binary gods for mercy"
"I'm sorry that we have to have a Washington presence. We thrived during our first 16 years without any of this. I never made a political visit to Washington and we had no people here. It wasn't on our radar screen. We were just making great software"
"The engineering is long gone in most PC companies. In the consumer electronics companies, they don't understand the software parts of it. And so you really can't make the products that you can make at Apple anywhere else right now. Apple's the only company that has everything under one roof"
"I have this hope that there is a better way. Higher-level tools that actually let you see the structure of the software more clearly will be of tremendous value"
