Programming is not a zero-sum game. Teaching something to a fellow programmer doesn’t take it away from you. I’m happy to share what I can, because I’m in it for the love of programming.
Meaning of the quote
Programming is not like a game where one person's gain is another's loss. When you teach a programmer something new, it doesn't make you lose that knowledge. You can share what you know because you love programming and want to help others learn too. The more people know, the better it is for everyone.
About John Carmack
John Carmack is a pioneering American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the iconic id Software and was the lead programmer behind some of the most influential 3D games of the 1990s, including Doom and Quake. Carmack has also made groundbreaking contributions to 3D computer graphics and is now focusing his efforts on artificial general intelligence (AGI).
More quotes from John Carmack
Focused, hard work is the real key to success. Keep your eyes on the goal, and just keep taking the next step towards completing it. If you aren’t sure which way to do something, do it both ways and see which works better.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Low-level programming is good for the programmer’s soul.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Because of the nature of Moore’s law, anything that an extremely clever graphics programmer can do at one point can be replicated by a merely competent programmer some number of years later.
American computer programmer and video game developer
I’d rather have a search engine or a compiler on a deserted island than a game.
American computer programmer and video game developer
At its best, entertainment is going to be a subjective thing that can’t win for everyone, while at worst, a particular game just becomes a random symbol for petty tribal behavior.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Programming is not a zero-sum game. Teaching something to a fellow programmer doesn’t take it away from you. I’m happy to share what I can, because I’m in it for the love of programming.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Rocket science has been mythologized all out of proportion to its true difficulty.
American computer programmer and video game developer
The speed of light sucks.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It’s expected to be there, but it’s not that important.
American computer programmer and video game developer
The cost of adding a feature isn’t just the time it takes to code it. The cost also includes the addition of an obstacle to future expansion. The trick is to pick the features that don’t fight each other.
American computer programmer and video game developer
The Xbox 360 is the first console that I’ve ever worked with that actually has development tools that are better for games than what we’ve had on PC.
American computer programmer and video game developer
It’s nice to have a game that sells a million copies.
American computer programmer and video game developer
Everybody’s saturated with the marketing hype of next-generation consoles. They are wonderful, but the truth is that they are as powerful as a high end PC is right now.
American computer programmer and video game developer