Editing Edsger W. Dijkstra (section)

=== Writing style ===
His interest with [[simplicity]] came at an early age and under his mother's guidance. He once said he had asked his mother whether trigonometry was a difficult topic. She replied that he must learn all the formulas and that further, if he required more than five lines to prove something, he was on the wrong track.<ref name="Denken_als_Discpline">{{cite web |last=Dijkstra |first=Edsger |title=Denken als Discipline |url=http://www.vpro.nl/speel.POMS_VPRO_212868.html |website=VPRO |date=10 April 2001 |publisher=Noorderlicht |access-date=21 June 2016}}</ref>

Dijkstra was famous for his wit, eloquence, rudeness, abruptness and often cruelty to fellow professionals, and way with words, such as in his remark, "The question of whether Machines Can Think (…) is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines Can Swim."<ref>{{Cite EWD|898|The threats to computing science|quote=Alan M. Turing thought about criteria to settle the question of whether Machines Can Think, a question of which we now know that it is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines Can Swim.}}, 1984</ref> His advice to a promising researcher, who asked how to select a topic for research, was the phrase: "Do only what only you can do".<ref name="Dijkstra_bio"/> Dijkstra was also known for his vocal criticism and absence of social skills when interacting with colleagues. As an outspoken and critical visionary, he strongly opposed the teaching of [[BASIC]].<ref name="EWD498">{{Cite EWD|498|How do we tell truths that might hurt?}}</ref>