Q: Why were you drawn to computer science?

Jeff Bezos:

I don't know. I think it's always hard to know why you're drawn to a particular thing. I think part of it is if you have a facility with that thing, and of course, it's satisfying to do it and so in a way that's self-reinforcing.

And certainly, I always had a facility with computers. I always got along well with them, and they're such extraordinary tools. I mean, you can teach them to do things, and then they actually do them. I mean, it's a kind of a- an incredible tool that we've built here in the 20th century.

And that was a love affair that really did start in fourth grade, um, by the time I got to high school--I think when I was in 11th grade I got an Apple II Plus-and, uh, you know continued fooling around with computers, and then by the time I got to Princeton I was, um, you know, taking all the computer classes, and actually not just learning how to hack, but learning about algorithms and, and, you know, some of the mathematics behind computer science, and it's fascinating. I mean, it's really a very involving and fun subject.

Q: Why were you drawn to computer science?

Jeff Bezos:

I don't know. I think it's always hard to know why you're drawn to a particular thing. I think part of it is if you have a facility with that thing, and of course, it's satisfying to do it and so in a way that's self-reinforcing.

And certainly, I always had a facility with computers. I always got along well with them, and they're such extraordinary tools. I mean, you can teach them to do things, and then they actually do them. I mean, it's a kind of a- an incredible tool that we've built here in the 20th century.

And that was a love affair that really did start in fourth grade, um, by the time I got to high school--I think when I was in 11th grade I got an Apple II Plus-and, uh, you know continued fooling around with computers, and then by the time I got to Princeton I was, um, you know, taking all the computer classes, and actually not just learning how to hack, but learning about algorithms and, and, you know, some of the mathematics behind computer science, and it's fascinating. I mean, it's really a very involving and fun subject.