Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!pacbell!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!agate!eos!eugene
From: eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: simplisticity quote: RISC v. CISC
Message-ID: <1781@eos.UUCP>
Date: 21 Oct 88 09:39:35 GMT
References: <10193@cup.portal.com> <5863@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>
Reply-To: eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Calif.
Lines: 24

In article <5863@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green) writes:
>Someone else on this newsgroup mentioned that Seymour Cray's secret to
>a fast computer was to put as few gates as possible in critical paths.
>Anybody got a reference for where Cray said that?

I'm certain it's derived from Anonymous' (doesn't he or she say a lot?)
long list of quotes.  I have:

"The fastest, cheapest and most reliable components of a computer are
those that aren't there.

Attributed to Gordon Bell while at Encore (now Ardent)
Page 62, More Programming Pearls, by Jon Bentley, A-W, 1988. (collection
of CACM articles.)

Another similar quote is "Better is the enemy of good enough." 8-)

Another gross generalization from

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov
  resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
  "Mailers?! HA!", "If my mail does not reach you, please accept my apology."
  {uunet,hplabs,ncar,decwrl,allegra,tektronix}!ames!aurora!eugene
  "Send mail, avoid follow-ups.  If enough, I'll summarize."