[mwfunk]

This is fascinating, I guess it really did come from Eisenhower but I've heard many variants. The first time I heard it, it was attributed to Bill Gates deciding where the paths on the MS campus should be (this was during peak Microsoft, sometime in the '90s).

I've also heard a version (or two) in which the campus was specifically one of the top tier US schools for CS (MIT/Stanford/CMU/etc.). The common thread was always that it was supposed to illustrate the visionary status of whoever was in charge, and/or the enlightened status of the company or university. The Eisenhower version would be the oldest one though, perhaps it was the original.

[wott]

I didn't know it was attributed to someone (or many ones). I always thought it was a common reflection almost everyone develops after seeing a few of those natural paths compared to the officially built paths.

[eric_h]

Amusingly, I'd heard it attributed to Steve Jobs.

[paulddraper]

It was actually Abraham Lincoln.