This is an English translation of an autobiographical book by Mats Danielson. The Swedish original has not been published by a commercial publisher, but is made available here as a PDF because people occasionally ask me if they can read it. [For Swedish, see here.]
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A Game of Two Halves – The Compass
Author: Mats Danielson |
This page presents the English translation of Första halvlek – Kompassen, an autobiographical book by Mats Danielson. It is intended for readers looking for the book, the author, or the places, institutions, environments and people mentioned in the text. The book deals with childhood, school, technology, working life, research, universities and computer science, mainly during the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. I am of no particular public interest as a person, and my story is of course just one among many. The focus is instead on telling a story of how the Swedish school system and society could function in a not-too-distant past.
The Swedish original was written in one sweep from the first chapter to the last, over a couple of summer weeks, one chapter per day, and contains what emerged in the form of old memories during each writing session. As a result, the chronology may occasionally be slightly uneven. The original method was deliberately linear: to write without going back and revising earlier chapters while the draft was still being produced. This also means that the text may contain a few repetitions, rough edges and unintended ambiguities.
The English translation was done in 2017 by two dear friends who liked the original text and wanted to make it accessible to a wider audience. Both are highly competent in English, but neither is a native speaker and the translation has not been polished into literary English. Some Swedish idioms and turns of phrase therefore remain. Any remaining awkwardness, mistranslations or other shortcomings are of course entirely my responsibility. Please view the translation simply as a courtesy to non-Swedish speakers, not as a work in its own right.
The book was originally written for my children and family, so that they would later be able to remember who I was, what I did and how I thought when I can no longer tell them myself. Its starting point is therefore very personal. Some episodes and observations may nevertheless be of interest to other readers, especially those searching for information about places, schools, institutions, technology, working life, universities or other topics appearing in the text.
In broad outline, the story begins in Bergshamra in Solna (a suburb to Stockholm) and continues through Ahlströmska skolan, studies at KTH (the Royal Institute of Technology) and Stockholm University, and later work in both industry and academia. Along the way, the book touches on Philips Data Systems, the Swedish Naval Command (Marinstaben), sound reproduction, early computing environments, consulting, research, higher education, and university life. The professional path begins in IT and management consulting and later moves to the university sector at three institutions: KTH, Örebro University, and Stockholm University. The book therefore includes a number of episodes, workplaces and people that might otherwise easily disappear from memory.
This is a book describing events I have taken part in, and the deliberations and choices I have made so far in life, i.e. the things that have shaped me over the years up to today. It is a fairly unvarnished account of various episodes from my life that, after my childhood, played out in both industry and academia, along commercial as well as research lines. It is not in any way a survey of my research, nor an account of how various results came about or how significant they might be within my field. Such accounts are usually rather dull to read unless you happen to work in exactly the same area — and often even then. My development work in industry and my research results in academia can speak for themselves, in the form of completed and deployed computer systems on the one hand and publication lists and citations on the other. All of that is documented elsewhere and is of no interest for the purpose of this book. Here I intend instead to tell of things that have not previously been written down in any form.
The book is not about competing with others over who has done the most or the best things. It is about trying to understand one’s own deliberations and choices in life, and being reasonably content with them and with what one has made of the opportunities and chances that presented themselves — partly as a consequence of one’s own choices, but also with an element of luck thrown in. I have not tried to make my deliberations and choices appear wiser than they were when I made them. In one’s youth, one lacks the degree of maturity one acquires later, but hopefully it is still possible to make choices wise enough to pave the way for the rest of one’s life. In other words, it is about gradually fine-tuning your inner compass over the years, and then daring to follow it and to think independently and clearly in the decisions that arise.
I have not personally been involved in any extraordinary or world-changing events, and that is one of the main points of this book. In present-day Sweden, a fundamentally ordinary life can become both interesting and rewarding, even if you come from modest circumstances. I like to see my story as a tribute to what Swedish society in general, and the school system in particular, has made possible during my lifetime.
The English translation can be downloaded as a PDF here. The downloadable PDF is complete and contains the unabridged translated book.
The Swedish original can be found here.
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