{"id":40693,"date":"2023-10-20T15:09:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/eleven-lessons-from-bill-gates-ask-me-anything-on-reddit-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:09:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:09:26","slug":"eleven-lessons-from-bill-gates-ask-me-anything-on-reddit-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/eleven-lessons-from-bill-gates-ask-me-anything-on-reddit-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleven lessons from Bill Gates’ Ask Me Anything on Reddit – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Founder<\/div>\n

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has taken to internet aggregate website Reddit to give his thoughts on sandwiches, success, philanthropy, and the future of tech in a five-hour question and answer session.<\/p>\n

Gates is\u00a0fond of fielding questions from people online, having held four previous AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions on the website, each time receiving tens of thousands of questions.<\/p>\n

This time he , covering an array of different topics, some more serious than others.<\/p>\n

From this, here are 11 things we learnt from Gates\u2019 AMA. You can read the entire thread here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m on @reddit<\/a> right now if you want to ask me anything: https:\/\/t.co\/C1TJrZDdcU<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/cjOfm7h6bk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bill Gates (@BillGates) February 27, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

1. Gates believes isolation is\u00a0a major issue<\/h3>\n

In response to the question, \u201cWhat do you think is the most pressing issue that we could feasibly solve in the next ten years?\u201d, Gates revealed he believes digital tools can help people who are feeling a \u201csense of isolation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still wonder if digital tools can help people find opportunities to get together with others \u2013 not Tinder but more like adults who want to mentor kids or hang out with each other,\u201d Gates said in the AMA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is great that kids go off and pursue opportunities but when you get communities where the economy is weak and a lot of young people have left then something should be done to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Gates goes \u201cincognito\u201d to spend time with kids<\/h3>\n

Gates told Reddit users he goes out into public to spend time with his children, while trying not to be recognised to keep the focus away from him.<\/p>\n

Responding to a user asking if he ever disguised himself, Gates responded: \u201cI sometimes wear a hat\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example when I did college tours with my son I wanted the focus to be totally on him. A lot less people recognize me when I have a hat on or else they realize I am trying to be incognito,\u201d Gates says.<\/p>\n

Despite being the co-chair of the massive Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates also revealed he tries to find time to spend with his three children whenever he can, and with a little help from his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelinda is very creative about helping me find chances to spend time with the kids. Even just driving them to school is a great time to talk to them,\u201d Gates said in response to a user asking for some \u201cdad-to-dad\u201d advice.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u201cSmartness is not single-dimensional\u201d<\/h3>\n

When asked\u00a0what advice he would give his 19-year-old self, Gates said he would have chosen to explore the world more and be a little less awkward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would explain that smartness is not single dimensional and not quite as important as I thought it was back then. I would say you might explore the developing world before you get into your forties,\u201d Gates said in the AMA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t very good socially back then but I am not sure there is advice that would fix that \u2013 maybe I had to be awkward and just grow up\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously, when Gates appeared on Australian television program Q&A,\u00a0<\/em>he told viewers about his difficulty of building a company as an introvert.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re clever, you can learn to get the benefits of being an introvert, [such as] being willing to go off for a few days to think of a tough problem, read everything you can, being willing to push out to the edge of that area,\u201d Gates said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then if you want to come up with something, to build a company to use that idea, you need to learn what extroverts do. You better hire some extroverts.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. His chair-jumping days are over<\/h3>\n

A famous clip from a CBS Money interview in 1994 shows Gates clearing an office chair with a single jump, a feat he says he can sadly no longer achieve.<\/p>\n

When asked if he still could perform such a jump, Gates said no, unless the chair was\u00a0small.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps a small chair \u2013 a stool. I do exercise and ski but my main sport is tennis which doesn\u2019t involve jumping. Some people jump over the net but that isn\u2019t part of the sport,\u201d Gates said.<\/p>\n

For reference, here is the clip, displaying young Gates\u2019 surprising agility.<\/p>\n