People who have no choice are generally unhappy. But people with too many choices are almost as unhappy as those who have no choice at all. - Ellen Ullman

"Neither of us had the easy confidence of someone like Harry Minor, who could gleefully complain of "not knowing a fucking thing," then set about knowing it."

But now, without leaving home, from the comfort of your easy chair, you can divorce yourself from the consensus on what constitutes “truth.” Each person can live in a private thought bubble, reading only those websites that reinforce his or her desired beliefs, joining only those online groups that give sustenance when the believer’s courage flags.

The corollary of constant change is ignorance. This is not often talked about: we computer experts barely know what we're doing. We're good at fussing and figuring out. We function well in a sea of unknowns. Our experience has only prepared us to deal with confusion. A programmer who denies this is probably lying, or else is densely unaware of himself.