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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

by 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.