--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What happens to people like myself, who…" description: "\"What happens to people like myself, who have been involved with computing for a long time, is that you begin to see how many of the 'new' ideas are sim..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg" --- # What happens to people like myself, who have been involved… ![“What happens to people like myself, who have been involved with computing for a long time, is that you begin to see how many of the 'new' ideas are simply old ones coming back into view on the swing of the pendulum, with new and faster hardware to back it up.” quote by Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg) > “What happens to people like myself, who have been involved with computing for a long time, is that you begin to see how many of the 'new' ideas are simply old ones coming back into view on the swing of the pendulum, with new and faster hardware to back it up.” [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Long‑term technologists recognize that many so‑called innovations are just revived concepts, accelerated by modern hardware. **In simple terms:** Old ideas reappear with faster tech. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns, avoid reinventing the wheel. Themes technology history innovation continuity Mood reflective analytical Type observational strategic When to use this quote - software development - product design - research planning - strategic forecasting Key Concepts recurrence technological cycles paradigm shifts Questions to Reflect On - How can you differentiate true novelty from repackaged concepts? - What hardware trends could revive other dormant ideas? A Different Perspective May overlook novel aspects of revived ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Computing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computing/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [New ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-ideas/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [New ideas can be good and bad, just the same as old ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/new-ideas-can-be-good-and-bad-just-the-same-as-old-ones/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“New ideas leave the old ones shaking in their shoes, don't they?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-hayes-loretta-nyhan/new-ideas-leave-the-old-ones-shaking-in-their-shoes-don-t-they/) Suzanne Hayes, Loretta Nyhan > [Java and C++ make you think that the new ideas are like the old ones. Java is the most distressing thing to hit computing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/java-and-c-make-you-think-that-the-new-ideas-are-like-the-old-ones/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [The act of voting, to put it in computing terms, is a question of user interface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-act-of-voting-to-put-it-in-computing-terms-is-a-question-of-user/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Cultural perspective on gender diversity in computing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenore-blum/cultural-perspective-on-gender-diversity-in-computing/) Lenore Blum > [I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Automobiles and the automotive industry are increasingly driven by data and computing. The saying 'What's under the hood' will increasingly refer to computing, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/automobiles-and-the-automotive-industry-are-increasingly-driven-by/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) > [If we don't figure out a way to have secure, connected healthcare, or connectivity and computing, we won't have that industry develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mollenkopf/if-we-don-t-figure-out-a-way-to-have-secure-connected-healthcare-or/) [Steve Mollenkopf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mollenkopf/) > [Traditional computing is always going to be a part of AMD's business, but our technology can go further.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-su/traditional-computing-is-always-going-to-be-a-part-of-amd-s-business/) [Lisa Su](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-su/) > [I think it's fair to say that the age of traditional computing is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-su/i-think-it-s-fair-to-say-that-the-age-of-traditional-computing-is-dead/) [Lisa Su](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-su/) > [The computing scientist's main challenge is not to get confused by the complexities of his own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/the-computing-scientist-s-main-challenge-is-not-to-get-confused-by/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [At every juncture, advanced tools have been the key to a new wave of applications, and each wave of applications has been key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/at-every-juncture-advanced-tools-have-been-the-key-to-a-new-wave-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The hope is that, in not too many years, human brains and computing machines will be coupled together very tightly, and that the resulting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-r-licklider/the-hope-is-that-in-not-too-many-years-human-brains-and-computing/) [J. C. R. Licklider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-r-licklider/) > [Many jobs at Google require math, computing, and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/many-jobs-at-google-require-math-computing-and-coding-skills-so-if/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) ## 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/) [Explore all 119 Ellen Ullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) William Henry Pickering > [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What happens to people like myself, who have been involved with computing for a long time, is that you begin to see how many of the 'new' ideas are simply old ones coming back into view on the swing of the pendulum, with new and faster hardware to back it up.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Ullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-have-been-involved-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-have-been-involved-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/ellen-ullman-3943_computers_what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-h_1594063.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What happens to people like myself, who have been involved with computing for a long time, is that you begin…” — Ellen Ullman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ellen Ullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What happens to people like myself,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-have-been-involved-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/what-happens-to-people-like-myself-who-have-been-involved-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```