<p>And when he was tinkering in that garage he was making “blue boxes” with his pal, Wozniak, that would get around long distance charges (ie rip off the phone company) – and selling them. I remember hearing about those, years ago!</p>
<p>[Are you suggesting there is something in the genetic makeup of Syrian people that makes them different from the rest of the world, or incapable of technological innovation?]</p>
<p>OK, maybe I am not reading this correctly but my interpretation of that comment is that the genetics of biological parents who were grad students made an interesting combination with the adoptive parents who were working class with little higher education (adoptive father was not a high school grad). Could you explain why you think that was critical of Syrians?</p>
<p>And it would be also interesting to know … maybe this is mentioned elsewhere … what fields the grad students were studying. As someone from a family of engineers, I’ve always thought that turn of mind was heritable.</p>
<p>I believe Ghost is bouncing between this and the "<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/parents-forum/college-search-selection/1219361-asian-students-aiming-top-colleges.html...where[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/parents-forum/college-search-selection/1219361-asian-students-aiming-top-colleges.html...where</a> " thread, where for some reason, Steve Jobs is being discussed!</p>
<p>I think the Mona Simpson part of this is the most amazing part. </p>
<p>Steve Jobs was adopted at birth. His father and mother married less than a year later. They had a daughter whom they named Mona. Mona was not told of her biological brother’s existence. </p>
<p>The parents divorced. The mom remarried. Mona took her father’s surname. </p>
<p>So Steve Jobs and Mona Simpson are biological siblings. How weird is that? For those of you who don’t recognize the name, she is a well known writer and now teaches at Bard College. </p>
<p>One of the links in the wikipedia article on Simpson has a link with a picture of Jobs’ biological father, who lives in Nevada. He never met his son. </p>
<p>Steve and Mona found each other as adults. Jobs often said that his adoptive parents were the world’s best. After they died, however, he decided to look for his birth mother and discovered Mona’s existence. There was an article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine years ago which talked about their relationship. They had truly odd things in common—both were fish eating vegetarians who smoked, for example. And people who knew both of them said that they shared some mannerisms, especially when speaking.</p>
<p>Oh, and Mona’s other’s claim to fame? Her ex-H, a writer on the Simpsons, named Homer’s mother for his then wife.</p>
<p>Not to go into depths about character and what not. I would say that most parents in this situation have reason to worry. I mean the chance of them pulling out of a sharp decline like that is very unlikely. Especially when drugs and new age ideas that aren’t very smart are influencing them. I can probably dig up some examples. But I’m at work. I just think you have to be nurturing and offer a helping hand and connect to your children before they get to these spots in their life.</p>
<p>I mean living in a garage and doing drugs could have led to suicide. So not all end up billionares.</p>
<p>Something I saw noted the bio mother is a speech pathologist and the bio father was studying poli sci, I believe- and may have been a prof at some point. I hear he is now a vp of a casino- no idea and not going to check that.</p>
<p>Why not? Just seems odd to post with half the story. He is a vp of a casino. He is also 80 years old. He previously taught political science at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin and at the U of Nevada, Reno.</p>