Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents Book

Here is a candid account of the life of a software engineer who runs her own computer consulting business out of a live-work loft in San Francisco’s Multimedia Gulch. Immersed in the abstract world of information, algorithms, and networks, she would like to give in to the seductions of the programmer’s world, where “weird logic dreamers” like herself live “close to the machine.” Still, she is keenly aware that body and soul are not mechanical: desire, love, and the need to communicate face to face don’t easily fit into lines of codes or clicks in a Web browser. At every turn, she finds she cannot ignore the social and philosophical repercussions of her work. As Ullman sees it, the cool world of cyber culture is neither the death of civilization nor its salvation—it is the vulnerable creation of people who are not so sure of just where they’re taking us all.

Ellen Ullman has worked as a software engineer and consultant since 1978. She is the author of The Bug and her writing has been published in Resisting the Virtual Life, Wired Woman, and in Harper’s Magazine. She is a commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”"

Publishers Weekly

Ullmansoftware engineer, businesswoman and rugged individualwittily spills the beans about the technology on which we all depend. "If people really knew how software got written, I'm not sure if they'd give their money to a bank or get on an airplane ever again." The dirty little secret, says Ullman, is that she and her associates, "barely know what we're doing." Software projects start out crisp and clear, the epitome of rationality, but then real life and real requirements intrude and soon the clean design is covered with jury-rigging. Old software programs ("legacy systems") are particularly treacherous; the longer they've been around, the less any one person understands them. As for the personality factor, programmers are such odd-balls that managing them is like "trying to herd cats." But for the programmers themselves, computing is just plain fun, and working with others on a high-pressure project can be a nearly sexual pleasure. Accordingly, the scenes in this short memoir with the most electricity have to do with last-minute rushes to complete software projects and the tension of midnight debugging sessions fueled by pizza, beer and Chinese food. Tellingly, the passages about Ullman's bisexual personal life aren't always as compelling. Ullman has contributed essays to Resisting the Virtual Life, Wired Women and commentaries to National Public Radio. (Oct.)