Student Question

What's a quote from Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park?

Quick answer:

Dennis Nedry quotes can be found in the first third of the book when he asks questions about the systems he is expected to design. For example, he asks, "What kind of a database has three billion records, Barney?"

Expert Answers

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I am going to assume that this question is asking for Dennis Nedry quotes from the book Jurassic Park rather than from the 1993 film. The film did a wonderful job with Nedry's character, and several scenes have him saying things almost exactly the way that he said them in the book. With that said, the movie did give him lines that don't appear in the book, most notably the lines he speaks on the way to the docks. Those spoken lines in the film are simply thoughts in the book. Additionally, the movie removed certain scenes that feature Nedry and his dialogue.

Early in the book there is a small flashback about Nedry confirming his suspicions about the code he has been asked to work on. Nedry is a bit baffled by the size of the system. It needs 3 billion fields, so he calls a colleague at Symbolics to ask about it.

What kind of a database has three billion records, Barney?

Barney asks Nedry a few more questions, but Nedry can't answer much because of his non-disclosure agreement; however, Barney is a smart guy. He knows that DNA has 3 billion lines of code, so he asks if Nedry is working on bioengineering. Barney suggests the DNA angle, and Nedry simply can't believe it.

"Oh, come on," Nedry said. "Nobody could be analyzing a DNA molecule."

Of course, it turns out that Nedry is wrong.

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