The biggest problem is that people have stopped being critical about the role of the computer in their lives. These machines went from being feared as Big Brother surrogates to being thought of as metaphors for liberty and individual freedom. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
My approach to being a self-taught programmer was to find out who was smart and who would be helpful, and these were – these are both men and women. And without learning from my co-workers, I never could’ve gone on in the profession as long as I did. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
Has Google appropriated the word ‘search?’ If so, I find it sad. Search is a deep human yearning, an ancient trope in the recorded history of human life. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
I think that focusing all experiences through the lens of the Internet is an example of not being able to see history through the eyes of others, to be so enamored of one’s present time that one cannot see that the world was once elsewise and was not about you. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
Y2K has challenged a belief in digital technology that has been almost religious. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
Computer systems could not work without standards – an agreement among programs and systems about how they will exchange information. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
To be a programmer is to develop a carefully managed relationship with error. There’s no getting around it. You either make your accommodations with failure, or the work will become intolerable. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
Reading code is like reading all things written: You have to scribble, make a mess, remind yourself that the work comes to you through trial and error and revision. Ellen Ullman Read Quote
