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I started college at 9. Didn't actually graduate at the time, basically started doing computer projects on my own, then went back to school at 22 in the PhD pro

I started college at 9. Didn't actually graduate at the time, basically started doing computer projects on my own, then went back to school at 22 in the PhD program at Berkeley. I haven't made a huge deal about this, but am more open to talking about it now, especially if the experience helps other people. Feel free to AMA.

chelmzy 7y ago
How did you manage to attend college at age 9? Was it your parents/home schooling?
- raphlinus 7y ago
  Short answer, yes. I was accelerated in the local high school, but that didn't work out for a number of reasons. So basically my dad decided I should take classes at the nearby college. It was unusual at the time and place, but he had quite a forceful personality.
glaive123 7y ago
Are you successful financially or has your academic achievement translated into career achievement?
- raphlinus 7y ago
  I have had a very rewarding and fulfilling career, and am gratified that I'm now able to pursue the things that interest me most: tools for font design, high performance 2D graphics, Rust GUI. A lot of this is connected to the things I was interested in as a teenager.
theparanoid 7y ago
How did it affect you romantically?
- raphlinus 7y ago
  Did I say AMA above? I should have probably qualified that... But I'll say this. I was very socially awkward as a kid and teenager. I dated some as an older teenager, but didn't feel quite comfortable until I got to grad school (at 22). Then I fell in with a peer group, got a really good friend group (who I still keep in touch with), dated and got married, had two kids, now divorced. So it's definitely part of my story, but my experience now is probably not all that different than most of my friends.
sabas123 7y ago
Since you got to interact with college students as a really young kid through being peers with them (I assume), did you also got to interact with the same group many years later when you went back and do you found the interactions to be similar? I know that this kid was raised really isolated from kids around the same age, did you also have this and how do look back at this?
- raphlinus 7y ago
  Yes, and I would say my interactions around academic topics were pretty similar. I really loved hanging around University computer labs as a kid and young teenager, and that was no different at all when I got to Berkeley. And yes, I was pretty isolated from other kids. Part of that story is that I grew up in a very rural, mountainous area. Looking back, I wish I had had more of a peer group. I wanted to go to the Johns Hopkins gifted program, but I think my parents were reluctant to let their little boy go into the big bad world. I regret they didn't.
anw 7y ago
Thanks for offering the AMA (as well as the work on druid). A few questions, and feel free to ignore, tangent, etc. any as you see fit: 1.) It seems you had a good educational upbringing from your parents. What did they do to encourage and promote your ability to learn and understand? 2.) What things do you think children in your situation need to be made aware of–whether it's to understand life, childhood, society, or themself–that may be overlooked? I'll leave it at that for now. I ask because as I plan for parenthood, I want to make sure I can help my child understand the world better, but also be socially well adapted for their peers, as well as feel good about their life as they understand who they are in the world. Thanks
- raphlinus 7y ago
  My parents worked pretty relentlessly to make opportunities for me. My mom was a professional librarian (still works a couple days a week), so we always had tons of books around. My dad made sure there were computers around - we built our first 8-bit kit when I was 6. Also he reached out to a lot of people who could be resources, for example when Niklaus Wirth gave a talk on Oberon at a University Maryland, he drove me out to see that. I think (2) is a good question, but a huge one, I'm not sure what to say within a HN comment. I know it's a cliche, but certainly that being smart isn't everything, there's a lot more to life. The game-like recognition of academic credentials and so on is not as meaningful in the real world as it seems "in the bubble." That said, what I think is a common thread of prodigies is a hunger and thirst for knowledge, to learn things. I carry that with me today, and think it's something to be nourished.
zerr 7y ago
Another way to look at this - you've (parents) tried to fast-forward the time for ending up on the job market earlier - why the rush?
- raphlinus 7y ago
  The college experience is about a lot more than job training. As I wrote in another response, it's about finding the best way to celebrate and nourish the thirst for learning new things.
arandr0x 7y ago
Have you met other people in this situation in real life (either who skipped grades or who could have and didn't) and what did you think of them? Also how did this affect your expectations of your own children?
- raphlinus 7y ago
  Quite a few. Both the Berkeley grad program and working at Google will put you in touch with a fair number of gifted people, plus a few more through social and family circles. Regarding my own children, this is complicated and I don't really want to talk about it here, but I'll say that their mom and I made sure to make opportunities available, but put a lot less pressure on them than I had when I was growing up.

chelmzy 7y ago

How did you manage to attend college at age 9? Was it your parents/home schooling?

raphlinus 7y ago
Short answer, yes. I was accelerated in the local high school, but that didn't work out for a number of reasons. So basically my dad decided I should take classes at the nearby college. It was unusual at the time and place, but he had quite a forceful personality.

glaive123 7y ago

Are you successful financially or has your academic achievement translated into career achievement?

raphlinus 7y ago
I have had a very rewarding and fulfilling career, and am gratified that I'm now able to pursue the things that interest me most: tools for font design, high performance 2D graphics, Rust GUI. A lot of this is connected to the things I was interested in as a teenager.

theparanoid 7y ago

How did it affect you romantically?

raphlinus 7y ago
Did I say AMA above? I should have probably qualified that... But I'll say this. I was very socially awkward as a kid and teenager. I dated some as an older teenager, but didn't feel quite comfortable until I got to grad school (at 22). Then I fell in with a peer group, got a really good friend group (who I still keep in touch with), dated and got married, had two kids, now divorced. So it's definitely part of my story, but my experience now is probably not all that different than most of my friends.

sabas123 7y ago

Since you got to interact with college students as a really young kid through being peers with them (I assume), did you also got to interact with the same group many years later when you went back and do you found the interactions to be similar? I know that this kid was raised really isolated from kids around the same age, did you also have this and how do look back at this?

raphlinus 7y ago
Yes, and I would say my interactions around academic topics were pretty similar. I really loved hanging around University computer labs as a kid and young teenager, and that was no different at all when I got to Berkeley. And yes, I was pretty isolated from other kids. Part of that story is that I grew up in a very rural, mountainous area. Looking back, I wish I had had more of a peer group. I wanted to go to the Johns Hopkins gifted program, but I think my parents were reluctant to let their little boy go into the big bad world. I regret they didn't.

anw 7y ago

Thanks for offering the AMA (as well as the work on druid). A few questions, and feel free to ignore, tangent, etc. any as you see fit: 1.) It seems you had a good educational upbringing from your parents. What did they do to encourage and promote your ability to learn and understand? 2.) What things do you think children in your situation need to be made aware of–whether it's to understand life, childhood, society, or themself–that may be overlooked? I'll leave it at that for now. I ask because as I plan for parenthood, I want to make sure I can help my child understand the world better, but also be socially well adapted for their peers, as well as feel good about their life as they understand who they are in the world. Thanks

raphlinus 7y ago
My parents worked pretty relentlessly to make opportunities for me. My mom was a professional librarian (still works a couple days a week), so we always had tons of books around. My dad made sure there were computers around - we built our first 8-bit kit when I was 6. Also he reached out to a lot of people who could be resources, for example when Niklaus Wirth gave a talk on Oberon at a University Maryland, he drove me out to see that. I think (2) is a good question, but a huge one, I'm not sure what to say within a HN comment. I know it's a cliche, but certainly that being smart isn't everything, there's a lot more to life. The game-like recognition of academic credentials and so on is not as meaningful in the real world as it seems "in the bubble." That said, what I think is a common thread of prodigies is a hunger and thirst for knowledge, to learn things. I carry that with me today, and think it's something to be nourished.

zerr 7y ago

Another way to look at this - you've (parents) tried to fast-forward the time for ending up on the job market earlier - why the rush?

raphlinus 7y ago
The college experience is about a lot more than job training. As I wrote in another response, it's about finding the best way to celebrate and nourish the thirst for learning new things.

arandr0x 7y ago

Have you met other people in this situation in real life (either who skipped grades or who could have and didn't) and what did you think of them? Also how did this affect your expectations of your own children?

raphlinus 7y ago
Quite a few. Both the Berkeley grad program and working at Google will put you in touch with a fair number of gifted people, plus a few more through social and family circles. Regarding my own children, this is complicated and I don't really want to talk about it here, but I'll say that their mom and I made sure to make opportunities available, but put a lot less pressure on them than I had when I was growing up.