About Me

I like to think that the technology is there to solve problems for people, not the other way around. I started my career doing that other kind of engineering, the sort that involves electricity, gears and getting dirty. Pretty rapidly the wonder of computer programming lured me away, which probably explains why most of my fingers are still intact today. Since turning to coding, I have worked on everything from 3D design and image processing software to database query engines and workflow systems.

I first discovered Ruby back in 2000 when I went looking for a simple programming language to teach to my son. The seven year old lost interest, but I never did and I’ve been building increasingly sophisticated systems in Ruby ever since. I also spend a fair bit of time speaking at conferences (for example here and here). One talk in particular, To the Moon!, seems to have struck a chord and I’ve done it for many audiences across the US and Europe.

I’m the author of two books:

• Eloquent Ruby is a guide to how experienced Ruby programmers actually use the language. The book assumes that you already know something about Ruby but still haven’t found your Ruby colored glasses and works from there.

• Design Patterns In Ruby Obviously.

You can find my blog Technology As If People Mattered over at http://russolsen.com.

Lately I’ve fallen in love with Clojure, which is how I’m come to be the Vice President of Consulting Services at Cognitect.