Programming in the abstract ...

Programming in the abstract sense is what I really enjoy. I enjoy lots of different areas of it... I'm taking a great deal of enjoyment writing device drivers for Linux. I could also be having a good time writing a database manager or something because there are always interesting problems.
 John Carmack

Quotes from the same author

Some cynical people think that every activity must revolve around the mighty dollar, and that anyone saying otherwise is just attempting to delude the public. I will probably never be able to convice them that that isn't always the case, but I do have the satisfaction of knowing that I live in a less dingy world than they do.
 John Carmack
It is not that uncommon for the cost of an abstraction to outweigh the benefit it delivers. Kill one today!
 John Carmack
The situation is so much better for programmers today - a cheap used PC, a linux CD, and an internet account, and you have all the tools necessary to work your way to any level of programming skill you want to shoot for.
 John Carmack
Sometimes, the elegant implementation is just a function. Not a method. Not a class. Not a framework. Just a function.
 John Carmack
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.
 John Carmack