Alan Kay

One of the best things that CEO Ray Kassar did for Atari was to talk the great computer scientist Alan Kay into joining Atari to set up a research division. The first thing he did upon arriving was ask around to see if there were any bright young Turks hanging around who might be at risk of leaving the company. Apparently a great many fingers pointed him in my direction, so one day I got a call from his assistant asking me to meet him. My ignorance of the real world was too great to permit me to have any inkling who this man was; as far as I was concerned, this was just another technical orientation session for some clueless big shot executive. So I showed up at Alan's doorstep feeling slightly put out at being taken away from my real responsibilities just to hold the hand of somebody who was paid too much and knew too little.

The man who met me was not at all what I had expected. In the first place, he didn't wear fancy clothes, nor did he act like a big shot; he leaned back in his chair while we talked and put his tennis shoes on the desk. I rather liked that. Still, I was in a crotchety mood that day and managed to communicate an angry young Turk image to Alan. Despite my surly attitude, Alan saw promise in me and hired me into the new Atari Research division. I was his first hire, and he didn't hire anybody else for some months, which meant that I had Alan Kay all to myself for the entire time. This was the computer scientist's analogue of being marooned on a desert island with Marilyn Monroe except that I was the computer scientist's analogue of a eunuch. Nevertheless, I quickly realized that Alan was no ordinary executive. Indeed, Alan Kay is one of just two or three people whom I have met who strike me as out-and-out geniuses. I find most people to be slow-thinking dullards who must be handled with diplomatic gentleness, lest the rush and thrust of my thinking overwhelm them and engender resentful rejection. But with Alan Kay, the shoe was on the other foot. I found myself struggling to keep up with his stream of thought. The ideas came pouring out in a mighty torrent that swept me along; only by dint of intense mental effort could I keep my head above water. My conversations with Alan were heady experiences; afterwards I would walk into my office, close the door, and stare at the wall for an hour digesting the experience.

LESSON 89

If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough.

I conclude this tale with one of Alan's favorite admonishments (Lesson 89).



Chris Crawford on Game Design
Chris Crawford on Game Design
ISBN: 0131460994
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 248

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net