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. 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 Argues that the fundamental nature of programming technology itself is the real culprit behind why IT systems always fail; it promises perfection but can only deliver emergent chaos. IT systems, an unavoidable and increasing reality in all our lives, are something new to humans - large-scale discrete complexity. Partridge 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 author discusses novel paradigms that look beyond the current discrete technology: neural computing and precise approximation computing. --From publisher description 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. --Résumé de l'éditeur This book illustrates in a simple yet thorough manner the underlying concepts necessary for understanding the IT-system crisis ù not 'How To Program' but what the demands of programming are. It then proceeds to lay out the full gamut of issues ù all stemming from the nature of the technology