| the day came for registering me for the | | | | anybody—and for a third-grader just infinite. |
| neighborhood kindergarten, my mom walked me | | | | Third-graders were not called upon and had no |
| the five short blocks to Stockton School and | | | | understanding of demographic analysts, actuaries, |
| decided I could manage the walk on my own | | | | marketers, investment managers, and others |
| most of the time. The teachers registered two | | | | who dealt with such large numbers with |
| classes, one morning, the other afternoon. The | | | | considerable if not total accuracy. Teacher was |
| younger children were put into the | | | | making a ridiculous distinction, annoying to me, a |
| “slower” afternoon class, and the | | | | budding mathematician who loved working with |
| older ones were assigned the more mature | | | | numbers. Second explanation: I was annoyed at |
| morning class. Their first reaction was that I was | | | | not knowing the right answer. There was nothing |
| a little young even for the afternoon class. Mom | | | | wrong with the teacher. |
| argued them into accepting me. Otherwise I would | | | | In hindsight, skipping a school year had a |
| have had to go home and wait another year. I | | | | downside. For years thereafter I was younger |
| didn’t like that. Then after a few months, | | | | than my classmates, socially somewhat awkward, |
| the lead kindergarten teacher decided that I could | | | | incompatible, and withdrawn. I had few friends and |
| keep up with the older kids and switched me to | | | | little interest in learning the names of schoolmates. |
| the morning program. I was about the youngest | | | | I turned to concentrating on learning and going |
| in the class. That began a phase of sociophysical | | | | after good grades. |
| backwardness lasting till I reached MIT. | | | | Much to my embarrassment, my father, Harry |
| I received Christmas presents, but there was no | | | | Kay, carried my latest high-school report card in |
| Christmas tree. That was my Jewish | | | | his pocket to show friends what a brilliant student |
| parents’ compromise with living in a | | | | his son was. I did not think of myself as brilliant. I |
| primarily Christian neighborhood. When I was | | | | liked learning. There was a huge amount I did not |
| seven the big gift I received was an Erector Set. | | | | know and just liked to study and learn. |
| I found it difficult to understand the instructions | | | | That’s the way I thought. He clearly |
| and to fit the little bolts, washers, and nuts | | | | expected me to become a scholar. Without |
| together that erected many things —a | | | | discussion and without knowing what it really |
| wagon, a house, even moving items, depending | | | | meant, I accepted and internalized the scholar role. |
| on a motor included. I put it all aside, but two | | | | In high school I took the chemistry course in my |
| years later I enjoyed doing it all. | | | | junior year. The teacher, “Doc” |
| The second-grade teacher mentioned once or | | | | Summers, did a great job covering the subject at |
| twice that one of the children in our class, William, | | | | high-school level and encouraging students to ask |
| was doing things at home, and later said we were | | | | him questions. One day I asked about carbon |
| going on a unique trip to his house to see for | | | | monoxide poisoning, not just in a garage or |
| ourselves what he did. We saw impressive stamp | | | | kitchen without fresh air circulation but, |
| and coin collections, beautifully arranged in books. | | | | “How about the CO from all the |
| (I had a small stamp book at home, not really well | | | | world’s automobiles slowly poisoning |
| put together.) We saw pages of butterflies William | | | | us?” His response was, “In the |
| had netted, pinned, and identified. He had built | | | | atmosphere CO gradually oxidizes to CO2. No |
| model cars and airplanes, neatly stored on shelves. | | | | problem.” But there was a problem and |
| Three reactions swept over me: (1) Really?, (2) I | | | | the world was in the earliest stage of its |
| could do all that if I wanted to, and (3) I was | | | | recognition. Neither Doc Summers nor anybody |
| jealous. Now I recall that as the first time I felt | | | | else in 1940 knew what was probably to become |
| jealous. In my life thereafter I was less and less | | | | the number one question for science for the next |
| jealous of anybody. | | | | sixty years and continuing even more dominantly |
| When I was beginning the third grade, I | | | | into the twenty-first century too. I guess it would |
| complained to my mother early in the year that I | | | | be expecting too much for Doc Summers so long |
| did not like the teacher. She was unfair and | | | | ago to properly introduce the issue of global |
| annoying. Duly alarmed, Mom spoke to the | | | | climate change. Funny, in all the discussion of |
| Stockton principal, Dr. Miller, who decided to | | | | ominous greenhouse gasses and other effects on |
| interview me in his office, a place generally | | | | the biosphere’s weather, I have not heard |
| associated with disciplinary action. He asked me | | | | anything on the role of carbon monoxide. |
| some questions, had me take a written test, and | | | | I took physics in my senior year, 1940 to 1941. |
| conveyed his findings to Mom, who shared them | | | | To my family the word physics meant the |
| with me. He planned to take me out of the third | | | | consumption of pills and supplements to improve |
| grade and move me up to the fourth grade. He | | | | you physically. The physics teacher was not so |
| believed I was bored. | | | | good. The years 1939 to 1941 corresponded to |
| I was flattered by the grade skipping, of course. I | | | | the slow-motion explosion of WWII. In my last |
| did not think I was bored—more annoyed. I | | | | two years in high school, the effects of WWII |
| recalled an episode in the third-grade class. | | | | were hitting high school students too. Some were |
| Out of the blue, and not related to previous work, | | | | old enough to be drafted as soon as they |
| the teacher had asked the class, “What is | | | | graduated. I was much too young for that, but I |
| the population of the United States?” I had | | | | lost something I was looking forward to: a course |
| recently heard the number somewhere and my | | | | offered in auto mechanics. The shop for it was |
| hand shot up. When she called on me, I said, | | | | great. The teacher left just after I had attended |
| “A hundred million.” ( I knew it was | | | | its first classes and no replacement was |
| a little more than a hundred million). She shook her | | | | thereafter available to use the shop until the war |
| head and went on to another child, who said, | | | | ended. One last peaceful summer, then, thanks to |
| “A hundred thirty million.” He got | | | | those good grades, off to MIT to join the new |
| her smile and the class’s applause. Not | | | | class of ’45. Because of the impending |
| then articulate enough to express what annoyed | | | | war, MIT graduation was not to be in 1945 but |
| me, I can explain it now in two ways. First: | | | | was delayed several years. |
| Neither 100 nor 130 million is exact. They are | | | | (This is an excerpt from MILITARIST |
| round-offs of the rapidly changing number of | | | | MILLIONAIRE PEACENIK: Memoir of a Serial |
| inhabitants (today 300 million). But more important | | | | Entrepreneur by Alan F. |
| they are very big numbers for | | | | |