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Years ago I interviewed Alan at his home in LA. First thing that struck me about his house was the BOOKS, books everywhere, bookshelves everywhere, shelves in e
by brianstorms 13y ago
Years ago I interviewed Alan at his home in LA. First thing that struck me about his house was the BOOKS, books everywhere, bookshelves everywhere, shelves in every room, every hallway, stacked everywhere, just nonstop books. Of course, as we were walking through the house before we even sat down, I asked about the books. He proudly told me he read a new book every day. On every subject under the sun.
I knew it was gonna be a great interview... it was.
- artimaeis 13y agoAny chance you could share that interview?
- brianstorms 13y agoAll in good time. That was the first of 3 or 4 interviews I did with him as part of research for my book on the history of the PLATO system, which Alan and a number of PARC folks were keenly aware of and went out and visited (and PLATO folks came out to visit PARC). I went back and checked the transcript of the interview. He told me he reads "somewhere between 200 and 400 books a year, since I was five or so. Depends on the year. And generally a wide range of genres and things. . . most of the sciences."
- vijayr 13y agoOne book, every day? How is it sustainable? Did he know of any speed reading/understanding/retaining techniques?
- jwdunne 13y agoI think part of it is that he has been reading fluently from a young age. My son can barely recognise his name and he's nearly 4. That's a very good head start in terms of practice. It might also be due to a strong natural ability.
- zenbowman 13y agoDidn't know he was in Los Angeles, thanks for letting me know!