Elgin’s Career and Departure

Where'd You Go Bernadette

Elgin’s celebrated work on Samantha 2 gives him status and purpose, but its cancellation forces him to reconsider what work and family require of him.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Career at Microsoft A Career at Microsoft from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A Career at Microsoft A chosen world Elgin finds an ideal professional home in Microsoft’s technical culture.

A Career at Microsoft from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A Career at Microsoft A chosen world Elgin finds an ideal professional home in Microsoft’s technical culture.

A Career at Microsoft A chosen world Elgin finds an ideal professional home in Microsoft’s technical culture. He leads a large team and gives himself to the problems of research, robotics, and code. Work as identity His success supports his family materially, but his long hours also leave Bernadette isolated. Career achievement and domestic absence grow together rather than canceling one another out.

A Public Breakthrough A Public Breakthrough from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A Public Breakthrough A demonstration succeeds Elgin unveils Samantha 2, a brain-computer interface that enables users to control household devices through…

A Public Breakthrough from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A Public Breakthrough A demonstration succeeds Elgin unveils Samantha 2, a brain-computer interface that enables users to control household devices through…

A Public Breakthrough A demonstration succeeds Elgin unveils Samantha 2, a brain-computer interface that enables users to control household devices through thought. The presentation becomes a major public success and establishes the project as his defining work. A purpose beyond status The system is intended to help wounded veterans live more independently. Elgin’s professional ambition is therefore tied to a humanitarian goal, a fact that later sharpens the pain of cancellation.

A Leave from Work A Leave from Work from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A Leave from Work A difficult absence Elgin worries that leaving Microsoft for the family trip will damage the project.

A Leave from Work from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A Leave from Work A difficult absence Elgin worries that leaving Microsoft for the family trip will damage the project.

A Leave from Work A difficult absence Elgin worries that leaving Microsoft for the family trip will damage the project. Soo-Lin helps him see that the time away is shorter than he fears and that work can continue without his constant presence. Personal priorities tested The conversation offers Elgin a rare chance to consider family as more than a responsibility funded by his labor. He has not yet learned how to balance those priorities consistently.

The Project Is Cancelled The Project Is Cancelled from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". The Project Is Cancelled An institutional reversal Elgin tells Bee that Samantha 2 has been canceled and folded into games after a key institutional partner…

The Project Is Cancelled from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". The Project Is Cancelled An institutional reversal Elgin tells Bee that Samantha 2 has been canceled and folded into games after a key institutional partner…

The Project Is Cancelled An institutional reversal Elgin tells Bee that Samantha 2 has been canceled and folded into games after a key institutional partner withdraws. The work he built for years will not ship in its intended form. A new beginning uncertain He has left Microsoft and hopes to continue the research at the University of Washington. His professional identity is unsettled, but he has begun to accept that the old structure cannot define his future.

A More Present Father A More Present Father from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A More Present Father Grief shared On the Antarctic shore, Elgin tells Bee that Bernadette was his best friend and admits he mishandled her creative needs.

A More Present Father from "Where'd You Go Bernadette". A More Present Father Grief shared On the Antarctic shore, Elgin tells Bee that Bernadette was his best friend and admits he mishandled her creative needs.

A More Present Father Grief shared On the Antarctic shore, Elgin tells Bee that Bernadette was his best friend and admits he mishandled her creative needs. They mourn together rather than argue about which of them has greater claim to loss. A changed relationship Elgin’s work has collapsed, but the shared journey gives him and Bee a chance to listen. He cannot repair the marriage or undo his choices, yet he becomes more emotionally present to his daughter.

Before and during the main events

Earlier in the year, at TED

December, before the planned Antarctic trip

During Bee and Elgin’s Antarctic voyage

Near the end of the voyage