Replies

The smartest computer programmer I know reverse-engineered the Dreamcast, the Nintendo, and we were part of a 12-hour computer programming team in a competition. He did almost all the work and he built a freaking X window manager from scratch in 12 hours. (Me? I just wrote the code for the custom X mouse cursor.)

I can imagine. I too was one who did things beyond the pale, but I do not wish to waste the resources of JimRob's site on My personal reflections (although if anyone would wish to enquire, well...)

"I can imagine. I too was one who did things beyond the pale, but I do not wish to waste the resources of JimRob's site on My personal reflections (although if anyone would wish to enquire, well...)"

My grades in high-school got me into the honor society but I wasn't valedictorian material. I had to work to help support myself and I prioritized my time in those subjects that I excelled in, and put enough effort in just to pass those subject I was weakest in. So I wasn't the best I could have been....but one day I was puzzling over why my turn table was playing too fast(I have perfect pitch). I looked at the gears of my bike, looked at the belt drive bezel on my turn table and then wrapped three turns of tape around the drive bezel, increasing the apparent circumference and there for the distance around the bezel which slowed the platter to its correct speed(seventy-six trombones is written in c major not dflat major.

My point is I saw in a flash of instinct and saw three dimensionally what needed to be done. I understood basic physic concepts without "showing the work" or doing the math. I wish I had more time to study and to feel secure doing it as I grew up. What am I now...an RN in an ICU in NY State, but I am nearing completion of my church's AV system complete with the speakers, subwoofer, that I built and designed from scratch(did have to do math there to match the speaker performance with the enclosure volume).

School and education is important but cookie cutter institutions don't always produce greatness or creativity.(greatness eludes me, but my friends at least know me as creatively eclectic with a fairly good singing voice). I suppose I was fortunate in someways in my school...there were teachers who seemed to know to let me keep my own course(and sometimes miss home-room, going directly to first period) as "long as my grades stayed up!"