Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
once too diffi cult and technical to be understood by mere mortals, and
too trivial and tedious to be worth the effort. The specialists themselves
talk about what they do as being a mysterious blend of art and science,
high tech and black magic. Many of the colloquial terms that are fre-
quently used to describe these experts —“hackers,” “wizards,” “cowboys,”
or “gurus”—refl ect the ambivalent fusion of wonder, awe, and suspicion
with which they are generally regarded.
2
That so many of these computer
specialists seem unwilling (or unable) to communicate to others what it
is they do or how they do it only exacerbates the apparent impenetrabil-
ity of their discipline.
But while you might not know much about what it is that these com-
puter specialists do, you probably can at least imagine what they look
like: the stereotype of the scruffy, bearded, long-haired programmer,
wearing (inappropriately) sandals and a T-shirt, has been a staple of
popular culture since at least the early 1960s.
3
He (always a he, at least
in the stereotype) is usually curt, antisocial, and more concerned with
maintaining the integrity of the “system” than in being truly helpful to
the end user.
4
So recognized is this stereotype that a high degree of pro-
fi ciency in computer programming has been linked with mild forms of
Asperger's syndrome and autism—the so-called geek syndrome or engi-
neer's disorder.
5
Regardless of the scientifi c validity of this particular
diagnosis, the more general association of computer programming ability
with a specifi c personality type—eccentric, arrogant, and antisocial—has
a long and well-established history, and continues to defi ne how com-
puter specialists are seen by their colleagues and contemporaries. The
archetype of the modern American “nerd” is no longer the engineer or
scientist but rather the computer specialist.
6
However little you might know (or care) about the habits and char-
acter of the computer people, you can at least appreciate their contribu-
tions to contemporary society. The products of their labor are everywhere
around us. We live in a society that has been so thoroughly computerized
that even the most basic human activities involve us in constant interac-
tion with computers and computer-based technologies. Most obvious are
the “personal” computers that many of us rely on daily to do our work,
help us study, allow us to create and access entertainment, and facilitate
communication with friends and family. Less visible, but no less signifi -
cant, are the millions of other tiny computing devices that lie hidden,
embedded within other products and technologies, quietly gathering
data, controlling processes, and communicating between components.
Your automobile almost certainly has its own computer (in fact, proba-
