I didn't know Aaron and had simply heard his name in the news a few times (i.e. over the whole JSTOR fiasco), so I'm struggling to understand why I personally a

I didn't know Aaron and had simply heard his name in the news a few times (i.e. over the whole JSTOR fiasco), so I'm struggling to understand why I personally am responding so strongly to this. I guess there are a lot of little things that add up. For one, the tragedy of debilitating depression. It's always sad when someone loses all hope and decides to end their own life, whether you know them well or not. Another dimension is the absurdity of the prosecution he was facing, which may have contributed to his despair. The government was making him out to be a thief trying to profit from what they represent as millions of dollars of stolen property. In reality, he was freeing information that rightly should have been free. I believe very strongly in that and I admire the guts it took him to make such a public and illegal statement about it. It's a shame that it cost him so much. Finally, there's a sense of the things he might have accomplished. He was certainly prodigious and his accomplishments at such a young age really can't be overstated. When Steve Jobs died he had already had a chance to leave his mark on the world. Both could've done more if they had lived. There's also the fact that he was a YC alum and Reddit cofounder so he has inherent ties to many in this community. So I guess for many it's a very personal loss, and for me it's a complicated but still deeply profound tragedy. >But anyone with a brain could have developed a technical specification and a website that turns out to be good.. right? Absolutely not. Many have the technical skills to attempt this, but few have the foresight and drive to succeed, especially at such a young age. What were you doing at 14? People like Aaron Swartz are rare and should be celebrated.