---
title: "3 Messy Quotes By Ellen Ullman"
description: "3 Messy quotes by Ellen Ullman. Plus more from Ellen Ullman and more Messy sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a4/ellen-ullman-3943_business_i-like-the-little-semi-competencies-of-h_797858.jpg"
---

> [I like the little semi-competencies of human beings, I realize. Governance, after all, is a messy business, a world of demi-solutions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-like-the-little-semi-competencies-of-human-beings-i-realize/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a4/ellen-ullman-3943_business_i-like-the-little-semi-competencies-of-h_797858.jpg)

> [The human mind, as it turns out, is messy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-human-mind-as-it-turns-out-is-messy/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/ellen-ullman-3943_human_the-human-mind-as-it-turns-out-is-messy_895161.jpg)

> [Our relationship to the computer is much like our relationship to the car: rich, complex, socially messy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/our-relationship-to-the-computer-is-much-like-our-relationship-to-the/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/ellen-ullman-3943_car_our-relationship-to-the-computer-is-much_2277759.jpg)

## More by Ellen Ullman

> [I think technical people now should learn literature, because literature teaches you a great deal about how - the depths and variety of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-think-technical-people-now-should-learn-literature-because/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [The web is just another stunning point in the two-hundred-thousand-year history of human beings on earth. The taming of fire; the discovery of penicillin;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-web-is-just-another-stunning-point-in-the-two-hundred-thousand/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [When I am writing, and occasionally achieve single focus and presence, I finally feel that is where I'm supposed to be. Everything else is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/when-i-am-writing-and-occasionally-achieve-single-focus-and-presence/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [I don't know where anyone ever got the idea that technology, in and of itself, was a savior. Like all human-created 'progress,' computers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-know-where-anyone-ever-got-the-idea-that-technology-in-and-of/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [You can only get a beginner's mind once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/you-can-only-get-a-beginner-s-mind-once/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [I'm a dark thoughts writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-m-a-dark-thoughts-writer/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [I hate to see capable, smart people out of work - young or old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-hate-to-see-capable-smart-people-out-of-work-young-or-old/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [“I believed my motivations were clear: to help the patient see the pattern that had been imposed upon her, this endless repetition of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-believed-my-motivations-were-clear-to-help-the-patient-see-the/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/it-had-to-happen-to-me-sometime-sooner-or-later-i-would-have-to-lose/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [Software and digital devices are imbued with the values of their creators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/software-and-digital-devices-are-imbued-with-the-values-of-their/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [ I've always written. I'm from an older generation of programmers \[who\] did not come out of engineering. \[A\]ll sorts of people were drawn in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-ve-always-written-i-m-from-an-older-generation-of-programmers-who/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [Through the miracle of natural genetic recombination, each child, with the sole exception of an identical twin, is conceived as a unique being. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/through-the-miracle-of-natural-genetic-recombination-each-child-with/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [Staring prejudice in the face imposes a cruel discipline: to structure your anger, to achieve a certain dignity, an angry dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/staring-prejudice-in-the-face-imposes-a-cruel-discipline-to-structure/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [Y2K has challenged a belief in digital technology that has been almost religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/y2k-has-challenged-a-belief-in-digital-technology-that-has-been/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

> [I don't consider myself a Jewish writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-jewish-writer/)

[Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/)

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