Tangential: Back when I was studying music, I took a class by the brilliant David Noon called "Stravinsky," on... Stravinsky. Dr. Noon presented a very early w

Tangential: Back when I was studying music, I took a class by the brilliant David Noon called "Stravinsky," on... Stravinsky. Dr. Noon presented a very early work of Stravinsky's (when he was in his early 20's, I believe) and noted that it was incredibly unpromising -- amateurish, banal. Note, 20 is really old by typical composer prodigy standards, so it's somewhat amazing that within a decade or so, Stravinsky went on to write masterpieces like The Firebird, Petrushka, and Rite of Spring. Another fascinating thing about Stravinsky is that he re-invented himself several times, moving from his brilliant early Rimsy-Korsakoff like style to spare neo-classicism, and then on to atonality. As someone who's moved from music to software development, I find that inspiring. I mostly mention this to encourage those who may have started down their paths in life atypically late.