Aaron Swartz, in his own words..

The following quoted text is excerpted directly from websites and blog posts written by Aaron Swartz. 

[[Taken from the AaronSW (technology and social change website), as read by Professor Lawrence Lessig in the documentary film “The Internet’s Own Boy” by Brian Knappenberger]]

“I think deeply about things and want others to do likewise. I work for ideas and learn from people. I don’t like excluding people. I’m a perfectionist but I won’t let that get in the way of publication. Except for education and entertainment, I’m not going to waste my time on things that won’t have an impact. I try to be friends with everyone, but I hate it when you don’t take me seriously. I don’t hold grudges (it’s not productive) but I learn from my experience. I want to make the world a better place.”

“I believe in good and bad. I support free software and limited copyright. I fight laws the restrict what bits I can put on a website. Politically, I am lower left, but I enjoy any well thought out political views. I’m a pacifist. I don’t believe in the science humanities schism. I want to be an artist. I have several annoying habits; I misremember things and overestimate the accuracy of my memory; I assume I am right even in areas I don’t know much about; and I misleadingly answer questions when I think a more truthful answer may cause confusion or strife.”

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[[Excerpted from “Schoolyard Subversion” Weblog post originally published on December 23^rd, 2001.]]

My Dream

Last night I had a dream of the way I want to live. I'm not sure it would appeal to other people, but I would certainly like it.
I walked in, not quite knowing what to expect. It was a modernly-designed loft with sleeping quarters, a meeting room, ping-pong tables and computers spread around. Windows were everywhere and light streamed making the place feel airy and bright. Many of my friends from the Internet were there, as well as a number of people I didn't know, but who seemed very friendly. We were all about the same age.
We were working together on a project that we thought would change the world. We were committed to it, and worked well as a team: we helped each other out with what needed to be done, and kept each other's enthusiasm up. We worked hard, but we also took time off to play ping-pong or go water-sliding. There was a bulletin board to coordinate events as we tended to keep irregular hours.
The team was rather large, but I got to know everyone on it well and we became good friends. We all worked to support each other, and everything was run democratically. New folks who wanted to help were invited in, but the group had to agree on them before they could join.
We learned all the time, both finding out the skills we needed to know ourselves, and teaching each other how to improve. While we knew there was a lot to be done, we focused on our one project with a single-minded determination, finishing it and solving all the problems that it raised.
If anyone wants to send me the money to make this dream a reality, let me know. :-) I already know the people and the project. The problem is we're flung across several continents, and this is the kind of relationship that just doesn't happen over the Internet.


If I had met Aaron Swartz in person, there are questions I would have asked him. I would have asked him if he had been able to achieve living the way he wanted to live and creating in the world what he wanted to create? I would have asked if he still wanted "to be an artist?"
I don't know at this point, how much longer I will live, or what I might be able to do with the time I have left? I do know that great evil and misery has been done in the pursuit of hypocrisy and lies and endless greed. I know I have very little strength or health left to contribute to the world. I know I am entirely and profoundly alone. 

I did want to start to write more often here just by giving an example of the intense and genuine intellect of someone I deeply admire? I hope this will serve as further inspiration as an example of human creative will? 

I still feel grief. I don't know a better way to explain or describe it?  I hope I will have more to say?