[HN Gopher] It took 45 years, but spreadsheet legend Mitch Kapor...
___________________________________________________________________
It took 45 years, but spreadsheet legend Mitch Kapor finally got
his MIT degree
Author : bookofjoe
Score : 149 points
Date : 2025-07-11 17:30 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bostonglobe.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bostonglobe.com)
| bookofjoe wrote:
| https://archive.ph/HHZeM
| lproven wrote:
| That was a while ago -- I wrote about it at the end of last
| month:
|
| https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/30/mitch_kapor_mba/
| fsckboy wrote:
| replying to that register article:
|
| > _he finally finished his nominally 12-month master 's degree
| there_
|
| A Sloan SM/MBA is 2 yrs (nominally and actually). There is also
| a 12 month SM/MBA for "senior executives", so that's probably
| what is being referred to. But in that case, it wouldn't have
| been him "finishing" the degree program he had left (because he
| would not have been taken as a senior executive then), so they
| probably applied the credits he did have to this other program
| for which he would have to write a paper anyway.
|
| (as a side quibble, MIT only started offering "an MBA" in the
| '90's (purely for job-market name recognition) and prior to
| that time the (same) degree was called SM Management, which is
| what his original program would have been. the SM is
| technically "better" because it entails also writing a thesis)
|
| He visited a company I worked at when I was fresh out of
| school, and he was brought by my office impromptu to see what I
| was working on. my software crashed immediately, and he
| laughed, in a friendly way, but didn't ask for my resume.
| mrbonner wrote:
| I became familiar with his work through "Dreaming in Code." If
| you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend giving it a try. The
| writing style is lively and engaging--definitely not your typical
| tech book.
| mindcrime wrote:
| I second this recommendation. _Dreaming in Code_ is well worth
| the read.
| aanet wrote:
| His master's thesis, which focuses on socially responsible impact
| investing, is worth reading. Especially in this age where growth-
| at-all costs is de rigeur.
|
| PDF here: https://www.d-eship.com/wp-
| content/uploads/2025/06/kapor-mdk...
| ohjeez wrote:
| I worked as a contractor at Lotus for about a year, back in
| 1987. My client/friend told me a story about Kapor that has
| stuck with me, although it turned out that she was an utterly
| unreliable witness... so take this with a grain of salt. She
| was Lotus employee #70, though, so maybe it's true.
|
| Kapor found himself in an elevator with another employee
| sometime after he had handed over the reins to Jim Manzi. The
| other employee, who apparently didn't recognize Kapor, was
| dressed in a full three-piece suit. "That's when Kapor decided
| to leave," my erstwhile friend told me. "He said, I started
| Lotus because I wanted a company where I could wear Hawaiian
| shirts and sandals. I didn't want to work somewhere where I had
| to wear a suit." But that's what Lotus had become, so it was
| time to go.
|
| We never met, but I have always admired the guy.
| getpokedagain wrote:
| What an interesting and well polished dude. I'm really happy to
| see someone advocate in such a calm well reasoned way in 2025.
| jama211 wrote:
| This is great, just what I needed to read today. There indeed is
| always hope!
| Zigurd wrote:
| Thanks Mitch. My mom is gonna be on me about this.
| fitsumbelay wrote:
| Manz is living my dream. Go Mitch. Been reading about this guy
| since BYTE and my age was in single digits
| oc1 wrote:
| True Legend, wish more investors were like him helping the
| underrepresented.
| burnte wrote:
| I think this is proof that no matter who you are, you can make it
| through college! :D
| brcmthrowaway wrote:
| He got rich outside of school
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2025-07-14 23:00 UTC)