I learned to program in 1964. It was a rare and unusual skill at the time. I was extremely fortunate to have remarkable mentors and teachers. Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things later led Apple's user experience team. Ivan Sutherland, creator of Sketchpad, was the father of computer graphics. It was a heady time. The Internet was just beginning. PCs didn't exist. Phones were used for phone calls.
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My first job as at the Harvard Center for Cognitive Studies. Established by Jerry Bruner and George Miller (the creator of Wordnet), the staff included Noam Chomsky, Daniel Kahneman (author of "Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow"). The second year I was there, they hired another programmer - Harry Lewis. I taught him everything I knew, which wasn't all that much, and formed a life-long friendship.
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Harry went on to become a highly respected Computer Science professor and Dean of Harvard College. In 2005, he asked me to help him teach a new course. Intended for students who were not technical, it explored how digital technology was transforming nearly every aspect of our life and society.
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That course led to the publication of "Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty and Happiness After the Digital Explosion."
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You can learn more about that work at www.bitsbook.com
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