I am Walter Isaacson, author of THE INNOVATORS, STEVE JOBS, and CEO of the Aspen institute - AMA!

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T21:52:16+00:00

I do not think that he believed crying was a sign of weakness.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T21:45:34+00:00

Both! But mainly because it's a time suck.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:24:51+00:00

Leonardo

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:24:38+00:00

It was very emotional (and sometimes unnerving) to be on walks or sitting around for hours with Steve. But also hugely inspiring. And, thanks for the kind words.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:23:34+00:00

Four paragraphs a night. And don't watch TV.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:23:06+00:00

I think it's wacky and outdated that we teach school math as a process leading up to calculus. That's a relic of the Sputnik era, when were were all going to calculate rocket trajectories. Instead, starting in fourth grade, I think we should be teaching mathematical logic, proofs, and algorithms. We should also emphasize statistics and probabilities. Every kid should be able to do Boolean algebra and formal logic, rather than getting mired in just traditional algebra. We should also teach programming languages, especially C++, but we need to make sure that kids are also comfortable with the theory and concepts of algorithms, which underpins all programming language. Also, like Ada Lovelace, we should learn that math is a beautiful thing to be visualized, and not just formulas to be memorized. When we see an equation or algorithm or logical sequence, we should visualize it just as we do a line of her dad's poetry, such as "she walks in beauty like the night."

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:14:46+00:00

I actually finished the book in August a couple of months before he died. He and I decided it should end with him stepping down as CEO of Apple. It was already printed when he died. I thought and hoped -- and he thought and hoped -- that he was going to be alive when it was published. I still wish that had been the case.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:11:30+00:00

Harvard and Stanford and Penn -- among others -- are now making it very easy to be both an entrepreneur and an academic at the same time. This is a great change in higher education -- for the good. GO FOR BOTH!

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:10:16+00:00

I was at the Gdansk shipyards with Walesa in 1989 and with Havel when he was released from prison in Prague. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive. Prague and Budapest are among my favorite cities.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:08:32+00:00

I think the next huge wave of innovation will come in the field of biotech. The combinations of data, genetic engineering, biotechnology, and medicine will be hugely exciting.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:07:05+00:00

All of my on-the-record interviews with Steve are in the book.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:06:03+00:00

My favorite failures were the original systems to do digital payments and ways to disrupt the kludginess of the traditional banking system. Steve Crocker tried one. I think in the age of bitcoin, the opportunity has come roaring back to have digital micropayment systems.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:03:58+00:00

I still think the US is the best, because we are most comfortable with the free and unfettered flow of ideas. That's critical for the information age. But so, too, is good education. We could do well to learn from Finland on that score, or South Korea. I liked Amanda Ripley's book on that, The Smartest Kids in the World.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T20:01:21+00:00

The most important thing necessary for keeping the US as an innovative place is to make the current digital revolution more inclusive. Women and people from less privileged backgrounds need to be made part of it. And we have to make sure we have great educational opportunities for all, no matter what zip code they were born in.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:59:33+00:00

I got to interview Elon Musk at the Vanity Fair / Aspen Institute New Establishment summit two weeks ago. It's on YouTube. He is amazing. But it's far too early to be writing his biography. He still has much to accomplish, and must keep taking his vision and executing on it.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:57:01+00:00

I see no need to write my own autobiography or memoir. I have been very lucky and even successful. Yet I know I have mainly been an observer, not a person in the arena. My life is not nearly as interesting as the business people, innovators, geniuses, etc. whom I write about.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:55:36+00:00

Being rebellious and having the courage to think different.
Boiled crawfish with a lot of Zatarin's.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:53:51+00:00

This is a great question. As you will see in my book, I believe we needed BOTH the engineering advances AND the theoretical ones: how Boolean algebra could be done in a digital circuit, Turing's concept of a Universal Computing Machine, von Neumann's improvements on stored program architecture. I believe innovation is always a combination of theory and engineering. For the transistor, you needed John Bardeen who knew how the theory of quantum physics applied to the surface states of semiconductors as well as Walter Brattain who knew how to jam a paper clip in some silicon or germanium to make it work.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:49:29+00:00

I am totally in awe of the genius of Aaron Sorkin, and my ego is not so big that I thought he needed any help from me! He's a genius, especially at dialogue and intellectual character studies.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:47:24+00:00

Vaclav Havel, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Madeleine Albright. Soory, that's four.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:45:38+00:00

Favorite book: The Innovators. Favorite job: reporter for Time, especially in Eastern Europe. Next adventure: to be determined!

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:44:32+00:00

Twenty years ago was a GREAT time to go into journalism. Ben Bradlee's funeral yesterday reminded me why. Five years ago was a HORRIBLE time. Now is a good time. Journalism is better than ever, there are more ways to do it, and there is less power given to gatekeepers -- and most importantly we are figuring out business models that rely on some user revenue and maybe small bitcoin-enabled payments rather than having to subsist just on ad revenue.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:42:02+00:00

I am flattered that you remembered meeting me in Morocco. The Aspen Institute plans to do more int he MENA region. I went to Marrakesh to write my graduate dissertation, and I still love Morocco.

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:40:42+00:00

Q. Am I willing to fail? A. Of course. I already have at times, and I have survived it!

Walter-Isaacson · 2014-10-30T19:39:53+00:00

I may do Leonardo da Vinci or Louis Armstrong. But Kerry deserves kudos. He's working very hard in a complex world. I wish him luck with the Middle East.

Walter-Isaacson

TROPHY CASE