I fall into this category. I have no CS degree. I'm the author of numerous things with the best known probably being the ZeroTier network virtualization engine.

I fall into this category. I have no CS degree. I'm the author of numerous things with the best known probably being the ZeroTier network virtualization engine. I got my first programming exposure when I was 5 or 6 on a Commodore VIC-20. By 10 or so I was doing 6502 machine language on a Commodore 64. I went from there. I have a BS degree in biology. I studied that because I wanted to study something new, but more importantly because I was interested in AI. I always thought (and still think) the best way to learn about intelligence is to study the only existing examples of intelligent systems. These are found in biology. The University of Cincinnati let me do a little bit of a "design my own major" thing so I designed one in "organic intelligence" with classes in genomics, evolution, neuroscience, and ecology. Those are the four scales at which intelligence is found in nature. I work in computers now (founder of ZeroTier) but still follow AI and biology avidly and would like to return to some of those areas of study someday. I also find that my study of biology deeply influenced me as an engineer and the types of systems I design.