Reflections on The Soul of a New Machine

I have just finished the first third of Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize winner, The Soul of a New Machine. Although I do not generally hold much interest in business and technology, Kidder's narrative is artfully crafted and extremely compelling. I have truly enjoyed learning about the early history of the computer business and the eccentric individuals who give "soul" to its products.
This first portion of the book takes place in the sixties and seventies. While IBM had immediately established "worldwide hegemony" in respect to computer sales, many smaller companies competed fiercely amongst each other for astounding profits (p.11). Kidder focuses on the realm of the minicomputer companies, which fulfilled a niche that IBM had basically ignored. In particular, he details the rise of Data General, a company with a reputation for brashness. In the world of computers, the mini computer sector is considered the most fiercely competitive and Data General stood out as the toughest of the tough. They had begun when a group of young engineers, led by Edson de Castro broke away from the leading mini company, Digital Equipment Corporation. The rivalry between these two companies and the intense competition within Data General itself creates the main tension of the narrative.
One question that Kidder ponders throughout his investigation is whether computers will ever display artificial intelligence, or the ability to think. One engineer addresses the issue by stating, "Artificial Intelligence takes you away from your own trip. What you want to do is look at the wheels of the machine and if you like them , have fun" (p. 90). Basically, and the point is illustrated throughout the book in a variety of ways, these engineers are ambitious and completely obsessed with their inventions. They do not want their machines to be able to think for themselves; on the contrary, they want their precious babies to go out into the world bearing a distinct likeness to their creators.
Kidder really captures the essence of the people who comprise "the soul" of the machines. These engineers are brilliant and totally obsessed. Mostly they are young and male; each of them is (and must be) highly competitive and willing to work tirelessly. The dark, no frills basement of Data General is full around the clock with young men glued to their screens, feverishly bent on producing the next big thing. For me, the image is ghastly; endless, stressful hours in a dark basement, eyes burning from too long in front of a screen, sound like my idea of hell. But these engineers are passionate about what they do, and it is not about the money, although the money is great. Nor does it seem to be about making the world a better place, or at least this has not been mentioned thus far in the book. What seems to drive them is a desire to challenge themselves mentally and creatively. They are amazing at what they do and they love the competition. They have a compulsion to invent technology, and at times they almost appear like addicts....red-eyed, pale, unceasing, and single-minded. One engineer relates the experience of he and his fellow undergrad engineers as they discovered programming: "We'd stay up all night and experience it. It really is like a drug, I think" (96). He goes on to describe how the "midnight programmers" become so obsessed that their grades plummeted and their girlfriends left them.
What really struck me about these engineers is that while they are so obsessed with their immediate projects, they seem to care little about the bigger picture. The Top Dogs in the industry adhere to the "mushroom" approach with engineers, which is basically, "keep them in the dark and feed them shit." I just wonder why the engineers accept this reality. Perhaps they are so happy with their work that they don't want to rock the boat. But what is behind it all? Besides money, what are the goals of technological corporations? Their power is impressive, so it seems natural to wonder what exactly they will do with it, either intentionally or unintentionally. Perhaps this will be more thoroughly addressed as Kidder delves further into the "soul" of the machine.