Close to the Machine Technophilia and its Discontents

Ellen Ullman offers a candid and blunt expression into her communion with the physical machine and the IT industry as a whole. A clearly successful software engineer and a clever individual, we get to dive into the relationship with her family, namely her father figure and his impact on her work life. There is an intertwining of carnal urges and intimacy when her relationships are explored and those relationships play a pivotal role in how she conducts herself in the workplace and in social settings.

Close to the Machine is about gaining a level of understanding of the hardware and software that many aspiring engineers in IT try to achieve throughout their careers. Perhaps it is also a state of concentration where the inner workings of the computer and your brain are symbiotic. Only if every day spent in front of the machine could be this smooth- think how much you could achieve in this state of mind?

Ellen also describes stereotypes and discrimination in the software engineering field, not holding back on the details. It is these experiences and lessons learned that sculpt the engineer's personality and we get observations of the behaviours through her colleague's encounters and romantic liaisons.

Some of the quotes that resonated with me and my journey, I've copied them below as they are worth repeating:

"...That I could learn anything, in no time, and be good at it. The arrogance is a job requirement. It is the confidence-builder that let you keep walking toward the thin cutting edge. It's what lets you forget that your knowledge will be old in a year, you've never seen this new technology before, you only have a dim understanding of what you're doing, but -hey, this is fun - and who cares since you'll figure it all out somehow..."

"...This process of remembering technologies is a little like trying to remember all your lovers: you have to root around in the past and wonder, Let's see. Have I missed anybody?"

"...The people I had to direct were programmers, and nontechnical managers don't get away with directing programmers for very long. When they meet you, there is really only one thing programmers want to know: are you technical or not ..."

"We live in a contest of the fittest, where the most knowledgeable and skillful win and the rest are discarded; and this is the working life that waits for everybody."

Although published in 1997, Close to the Machine has tells a morbidly accurate depiction of society and the interactions with software and the web. For those embarking in this industry, it's an enjoyable read with a lot of technical and professional lessons. For the seasoned programmer, there will be some nostalgic moments as Ullman relates to Generation X and the Millennials.