I remember that Richard Hipp (SQLite creator) once cited a bunch of similar quotes including the Linus' one.

https://www.percona.com/sites/default/files/hipp%20sqlite%20...

"Show me your flowcharts and conceal your tables, and I shall continue to be mystified. Show me your tables, and I won't usually need your flowcharts; they'll be obvious." -- Fred Brooks, The Mythical Man-Month, pp. 102-103