One might think so when alienated from the machine, but you can utilize the right temporal neocortex (mirror of your speech center on the left) which processes and emits emotions for whatever - it does not have to be other humans!
A race driver (dono anymore) called this "Mechanical Sympathy" and it's what happens when you work on what feels wrong / tedious etc when working on your computer. And that usually involves doing things down to the bits.
Can you look into your case on a memory bank and tell what chips hold what data? How it flows from the input of your fingers to the screen? A small C program using the framebuffer is within reach!
It's lovely!
Pirsig mentions this in his first book, and I always related to that part, as I'm the kind of person that "feels" the pain when someone turns a screw more than it can go, etc. Searching on the pilot you mention and the date of the book, I wouldn't be surprised if he picked up the term from Jackie Stewart indeed.
I like you! Pirsig yes, Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - i got from Gemini it's Jackie Stewarts quote though.
Yeah, I see now my writing was confusing (it happens to me ...), as I meant to say Pirsig probably picked up the term from Stewarts.
In any case, great book. Gave it as a gift to my dad who was a mechanic when young and also rode a motorcycle (unlike Pirsig's' it as an Ariel though).