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Ellen Ullman wrote the most precise account of "computer culture" I have seen
I recently read Ellen Ullman's memoir about her life as a software developer in the dot-com bubble era: "Close to the machine: Technophilia and its discontents". I am very positively surprised; I think it is the best text I have read about the experience of being a programmer.
The book was written before I was born, but I can still closely relate to most of the cultural points made. She does a great job defining the anxieties and frictions you experience working in the duality of the very formal computer systems and the subjective, messy working contexts, filled with deadlines, bureaucracy, "rockstars"...
Her takes on the internet are also super relevant today. A favorite extract of mine:
>When I watch the users try the Internet, it slowly becomes clear to me that the Net represents the ultimate dumbing-down of the computer. The users seem to believe that they are connected to some vast treasure trove — all the knowledge of our times, an endless digitized compendium, some electronic library of Alexandria — if only they could figure out how to use it. But they just sit and click, and look disconcertedly at the junk that comes back at them.
Wonderful read if you work in tech or close to it. Deeply recommend it. I wrote some more notes and quotes on my blog https://manu.zone/books/close-to-the-machine/, if anyone is interested. Do you know any similar reads?
I recently read Ellen Ullman's memoir about her life as a software developer in the dot-com bubble era: "Close to the machine: Technophilia and its discontents". I am very positively surprised; I think it is the best text I have read about the experience of being a programmer.
The book was written before I was born, but I can still closely relate to most of the cultural points made. She does a great job defining the anxieties and frictions you experience working in the duality of the very formal computer systems and the subjective, messy working contexts, filled with deadlines, bureaucracy, "rockstars"...
Her takes on the internet are also super relevant today. A favorite extract of mine:
>When I watch the users try the Internet, it slowly becomes clear to me that the Net represents the ultimate dumbing-down of the computer. The users seem to believe that they are connected to some vast treasure trove — all the knowledge of our times, an endless digitized compendium, some electronic library of Alexandria — if only they could figure out how to use it. But they just sit and click, and look disconcertedly at the junk that comes back at them.
Wonderful read if you work in tech or close to it. Deeply recommend it. I wrote some more notes and quotes on my blog https://manu.zone/books/close-to-the-machine/, if anyone is interested. Do you know any similar reads?
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