Who really said it
Turing wrote this in the opening of the handbook’s Programming Principles section. The linked transcription preserves the sentence.
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
For presentations
Verified quote & credit
“Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and example rather than from books” Alan Turing — Programmers’ Handbook for the Manchester Electronic Computer Mark II (1951)
Can you use it?
Still under copyright (rights held by Alan Turing estate and/or the identified publisher). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.
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In context
Evoking the world of Alan Turing — Mathematician and computer pioneer. Theme: "Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and example rather than from books". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
practice and example
A brief literal excerpt from the fetched source; the explanation above identifies the full passage and its context.
Read the sourceHow we verified this
The identified source is a publication from 1931 or later. The passage is treated as in copyright; only a brief source excerpt is reproduced here.
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Context
The remark introduces practical guidance about building routines from smaller operations. It acknowledges that a manual can explain techniques while experience remains essential to learning the craft.
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Robert S. Thau’s transcription contains the exact sentence in section 15; Manchester’s institutional contents page identifies the handbook as Turing’s 1951 first edition.
The university-hosted contents identify A. M. Turing, 1951, and explain how transcription pagination differs from the original.
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The author
For writers & researchers
Alan Turing. Programmers’ Handbook for the Manchester Electronic Computer Mark II. 1951. Section 15, Programming Principles, opening sentence.. Consulted via the linked source.
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and example rather than from books’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/programming-is-a-skill-best-acquired-by-practice-and/