I'm reminded of this possibly apocryphal conversation between Alan Kay and Ivan Sutherland.
Alan Kay: "How could you possibly have done the first interactive graphics program, the first nonprocedural programming language, the first object oriented software system, all in one year?"
Ivan Sutherland: "Well, I didn't know it was hard."
I enjoy reading historical documents like these from earlier eras of computing. The foresight some brilliant people had is amazing to see in retrospect, and makes me rethink the fundamental assumptions of how we design and use computers (and software) today.
Alan Kay: "How could you possibly have done the first interactive graphics program, the first nonprocedural programming language, the first object oriented software system, all in one year?"
Ivan Sutherland: "Well, I didn't know it was hard."