Linus Torvalds’s autobiography, co-written with David Diamond, tracing his path from a Helsinki childhood to creating Linux as a hobby that became a global phenomenon.
The shortest path is not always the shortest path
Linus didn’t set out to build a world-changing OS. He just wanted to understand how his 386 worked. The title says it all — he did it just for fun. And yet that playful authenticity carried him further than any career plan ever could.
I think there’s a lesson here that’s easy to miss: the shortest path to success is not the seemingly direct one. It’s the authentic one — where what you believe, what you say, and what you do are in alignment. Success, as the external world defines it, is just a byproduct.
This reminds me of Forrest Gump — a fool in normal people’s eyes, but always true to himself and the people around him. He achieved miracles without ever trying. In that sense, Linus is Forrest Gump in my eyes.
Nobody wanted to hear from you, bro
The co-author David Diamond inserted himself into quite a few pages throughout the book. I really despised those parts. Why bother? Just skip them.
Survival, social, fun
Linus laid out his view on what drives human society in the preface and at the end of the book: survival, social order, and fun. I think he’s spot on.
It even applies to something as mundane as job searching. What do you want for your next job? First, a paycheck — that covers survival. Then you want to work with people you actually like — that’s the social part. And finally, you want to do something together that’s genuinely fun. In that order, but aim for all three.
Respect has to be earned
Not from the book, but from a public Q&A session. I can’t agree more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ017D_JOPY