Ellen Ullman Quotes

4 Sourced Quotes

The messiness cannot go into the program; it piles up around the programmer.

Ellen Ullman

To listen to Mr. Engelbart that day almost five years ago was to realize that the computer industry, when it started, was not simply about becoming a chief executive or retiring on stock options at 35. It was to remember that real innovation — the stuff that made computers so much more than "crummy factors of production" — comes from mysterious places, wild people, dreamers and tinkerers, and to remember all the skepticism they had to endure.

Ellen Ullman

The corollary of constant change is ignorance. This is not often talked about: we computer experts barely know what we're doing. We're good at fussing and figuring out. We function well in a sea of unknowns. Our experience has only prepared us to deal with confusion. A programmer who denies this is probably lying, or else is densely unaware of himself.

Ellen Ullman

I have a suggestion for Microsoft — no fancy programming required. Just let us users hang out a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Then leave us alone. We're dreaming.

Ellen Ullman

Ellen Ullman

Bio: Ellen Ullman is an American computer programmer and author. She has written novels as well as articles for various publications, including Harper's Magazine, Wired, the New York Times and Salon.

Known for:

By Blood
Close to the machine
The Bug
Life in Code

Ellen Ullman on Wikipedia

Suggest an edit or a new quote

American Programmer Quotes

Programmer Quotes

Women Programmers