Ebook: The Seductive Computer: Why IT Systems Always Fail

IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No.

The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented.

IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding.

This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not ‘How To Program’ but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology.

From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge.

What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.

IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No.

The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented.

IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding.

This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not ‘How To Program’ but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology.

From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge.

What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.

IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No.

The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented.

IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding.

This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not ‘How To Program’ but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology.

From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge.

What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Introduction....Pages 1-11
Front Matter....Pages 13-13
The Happy Hacker, Love at First Byte....Pages 15-23
The Reluctant Programmer....Pages 25-31
Cooking Up Programs....Pages 33-52
Recipes for What?....Pages 53-67
Programs: The Good, the Bad, and the Verified....Pages 69-90
Going to Ground with Symbols....Pages 91-98
Hooptedoodle 1 – The Proof of the Science is in the Pudding....Pages 99-108
The Soft Machine....Pages 109-113
Computers Only Do as They’re Told....Pages 115-130
Hooptedoodle 2: Recursing Through Tescos....Pages 131-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Intimate Relationships of the Computational Kind....Pages 151-158
Programming with Flair....Pages 159-179
Hooptedoodle 3: The Seductive Gene....Pages 181-186
Runaway Programs: Dr Frankenstein’s Predicament....Pages 187-206
Sneakaway Programs: Everybody’s Predicament....Pages 207-216
Hooptedoodle 4: Bases for Data Security....Pages 217-221
The Roles of Software in Society....Pages 223-230
Front Matter....Pages 231-231
Help from Within....Pages 233-240
A Moderately Stupid Assistant....Pages 241-248
Front Matter....Pages 231-231
Watching Programs Work....Pages 249-253
Classical Reconditioning: Doing What Happens Naturally....Pages 255-274
A Computer That Knows When It’s Wrong....Pages 275-285
Front Matter....Pages 287-287
Analysis and Counselling....Pages 289-300
The Epilogic....Pages 301-306
Back Matter....Pages 307-323

IT systems explode budget estimates, bust production deadlines by years, and then fail to work properly. Why this IT-system crisis? Poor programmers? Inadequate project management? No.

The Seductive Computer argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. It is also an insidiously compelling technology, peculiarly male oriented.

IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to man - large-scale discrete complexity. The Seductive Computer explains this novelty that defies human understanding.

This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis - not ‘How To Program’ but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues - all stemming from the nature of the technology.

From development to maintenance IT-system personnel are grappling with incipient chaos. The technicians are seduced by the detailed challenge of the technology. The scientists are seduced by the promises of their technology. The managers and users are seduced by the mysteries of the technology. No IT system is ever fully understood by anyone, so surprising behaviours will always emerge.

What can be done? We must rein in our expectations of IT systems: what they can do, and how reliably they can do it. On the positive side, The Seductive Computer discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Introduction....Pages 1-11
Front Matter....Pages 13-13
The Happy Hacker, Love at First Byte....Pages 15-23
The Reluctant Programmer....Pages 25-31
Cooking Up Programs....Pages 33-52
Recipes for What?....Pages 53-67
Programs: The Good, the Bad, and the Verified....Pages 69-90
Going to Ground with Symbols....Pages 91-98
Hooptedoodle 1 – The Proof of the Science is in the Pudding....Pages 99-108
The Soft Machine....Pages 109-113
Computers Only Do as They’re Told....Pages 115-130
Hooptedoodle 2: Recursing Through Tescos....Pages 131-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Intimate Relationships of the Computational Kind....Pages 151-158
Programming with Flair....Pages 159-179
Hooptedoodle 3: The Seductive Gene....Pages 181-186
Runaway Programs: Dr Frankenstein’s Predicament....Pages 187-206
Sneakaway Programs: Everybody’s Predicament....Pages 207-216
Hooptedoodle 4: Bases for Data Security....Pages 217-221
The Roles of Software in Society....Pages 223-230
Front Matter....Pages 231-231
Help from Within....Pages 233-240
A Moderately Stupid Assistant....Pages 241-248
Front Matter....Pages 231-231
Watching Programs Work....Pages 249-253
Classical Reconditioning: Doing What Happens Naturally....Pages 255-274
A Computer That Knows When It’s Wrong....Pages 275-285
Front Matter....Pages 287-287
Analysis and Counselling....Pages 289-300
The Epilogic....Pages 301-306
Back Matter....Pages 307-323
....