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by codingdave 3451 days ago
But he didn't really show great promise. He dropped out of high school. He dropped out of college. (At least according to the article... I didn't know him.) He didn't hold jobs. He broke laws, even if for arguably good reasons. He didn't get the legal help he needed. He didn't get the psych help he needed. And his life ended in tragedy.

He may have been a great guy. He may have been nice and caring. But he is not a great role model, no matter how much people wish he could have been.
3 comments
carlmcqueen 3451 days ago
Probably biased because I knew Aaron[1] but if you've read his fundamental belief on schools[2], which he held very early, it is not a big surprise that he didn't finish the process.

He didn't fit in that mold, as many didn't here. His mind didn't fit in the rule following process at all, which honestly IS what showed his great promise. He was capable of more and brave enough to try.

While I don't like post humous articles that use someone else to push your ideas, someone who can't speak for themselves anymore, this comment just made me sad.

[1] Same high school, a few years older. [2] https://newrepublic.com/article/127317/school

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jeswin 3451 days ago
> But he didn't really show great promise. He dropped out of high school. He dropped out of college.

He may have many flaws, but that's the one thing you can't say about him. Watch this part of Internet's Own Boy: https://youtu.be/aePSFMLzBBM?t=12m50s

To narrate that part of the video, as a school kid he goes to Washington to listen to Lawrence Lessig challenging the Copyright Laws in the Supreme Court. The video shows him saying that he's doing this because it's such an important case. How many school kids are interested in that kind of thing? And among other things, he participated (at a very young age) in the RSS specification, and was part of the team which wrote Reddit (PG calls him co-founder).

Many of us (especially here on HN) were aware of his accomplishments way before he took his own life. He's not someone who became a hero after or due to his tragic death.

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thecrow1213 3451 days ago
Are you kidding? Wasn't he one of the developers of the RSS protocol? Plus he was starting companies and giving lecture before most of us finished college.

I for one judge people on their accomplishments, not whether he finished school or not.

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