Video summary
In this segment of AMA #6, Lex Fridman addresses a high school student named Zecharia from Libya who is eager to pursue artificial intelligence and engineering despite facing significant educational constraints in his home country. Having successfully completed Harvard's CS50x online course, Zecharia asks for advice on how to overcome the disadvantages imposed by his local system while aspiring to become a world-class engineer like Elon Musk or other renowned figures. Lex commends Zecharia for reaching out and maintaining clarity about his passion, emphasizing that it is crucial not to lose sight of this internal fire during college years and beyond. He acknowledges the reality of injustice in society where individuals do not start from equal footing but reframes these challenges as potential superpowers rather than mere obstacles. Lex argues that history shows great men and women often overcame substantial disadvantages, suggesting that the process of surmounting hardship is what ultimately creates greatness for those who survive it. While he admits that transitioning directly from Libya to top American universities may be difficult due to physical constraints, he asserts that this path is not impossible if one leverages the internet effectively. His primary practical advice is to use online education not just for passive study but as a tool to build tangible projects and demonstrate capabilities to the global community. He encourages Zecharia to start by re-implementing existing solutions before finding new areas of curiosity, stressing that even small creations can bring joy or value if they are novel enough to engage others. A central theme in Lex's response is the importance of finishing what one starts rather than abandoning projects due to waning interest during inevitable dark periods. He advises Zecharia to hold onto his initial spark of excitement and continue grinding through difficulties, noting that passion naturally fluctuates but always returns if nurtured. Instead of aiming for overly ambitious goals immediately, Lex suggests building something small yet cool and new, then sharing it with the world via platforms like GitHub. This act of putting one's work out there opens doors to unexpected opportunities; while success might not match initial dreams in every case, fulfilling outcomes often arise when individuals share their love for what they do honestly and without jealousy. Furthermore, Lex challenges conventional notions that define success solely through attendance at elite institutions like MIT or Stanford, proposing instead that meaningful achievements can come from starting a business, working for a small startup, or applying software engineering skills to help professionals in agriculture, law, or medicine. He urges young people not to listen to voices advocating safety and stability but rather to follow their hearts and take bold risks during youth when they have the most time to build and innovate. By combining hard work with kindness and putting beloved projects into the world, individuals can attract positive karma that repays them in due course. Ultimately, Lex frames Zecharia's story as a narrative where later chapters will involve overcoming even more hardships before reaching moments of fun, suggesting that conquering adversity is itself an enjoyable part of life. He expresses deep belief in Zecharia's potential future success and invites the global audience to cheer for him, promising to read his biography when Lex reaches his eighties. The conversation concludes with a message of encouragement: if one allows themselves to be carried by passion while maintaining honesty and kindness, magical things will happen regardless of external circumstances or perceived disadvantages.
Read the full video transcript
Zecharia asks dr. Lex I'm a high school
student in Libya I am very interested in
new technology and artificial
intelligence and have taken the online
course cs50x from Harvard what do you
advise people like me to learn I'm at a
disadvantage because of my country's
educational system I one day want to
become a great engineer like you Elon
Musk and many more that may not be as
famous I'm very grateful for the mere
chance if you're applying to this when a
world were in that a kid from nowhere
can be asking questions of an MIT
researcher Zecharia thank you very much
for the question
you're too kind I probably have a lot to
say about this topic but let me try to
be brief into the point I think it's
wonderful that you reached out and there
you have a clarity to your passion don't
lose track of that in your college years
in the years to come don't forget that
you have an interest in artificial
intelligence don't forget that that fire
was there when you were in high school
and keep that fire burning I think the
the question you've asked is about the
disadvantage I think we live in a world
where there's a lot of injustice where
we don't all start from the same place
and that disadvantage doesn't always
look the same for everyone and how to
make a more just world is in many ways
we're struggling as a society to
understand no but that's a much bigger
topic than either you or I I think what
you should be focused on is what you can
do for your life your circumstances your
circumstance I've always believed that
my disadvantages are my superpowers and
I think your disadvantage is your
superpower use it as fuel if you look at
stories of great men of great women in
history that story always has a lot of
disadvantages that were overcome there
is something in the process of
overcoming hardship that creates
greatness most people quit through that
process if you can survive it then your
story will be a great one so the
education system in Libya may not be
optimal for your passion of artificial
intelligence perhaps you want to become
a professor or a top researcher in the
world it's difficult to go from Libya to
one of the best universities in in
America for example but it's not
impossible and once again the story of
great people starts very much like your
own story so practically speaking what
does that mean I would take your
education online and not only to study
but to build stuff I think the best way
you can overcome the physical
constraints of your upbringing is by
using the Internet to build stuff and
show to the world build it complete it
and show to the world so that means
learning how to program that means
building something that you're really
excited about and something that's new
and the best if it's something that's
new and a bunch of people use and it
brings them joy or it brings the value
just even the smallest possible thing so
that might start at first by
re-implementing things that other people
have done but then finding something
that you're curious about something that
kind of gives you a little spark of joy
imagining that you might be able to
figure out that puzzle don't lose track
of that joy like the moment you detect
that this might be something you might
be excited about or you already are
excited about hold onto that
hold onto that fire and go with it
because there's going to be dark periods
of time when you lose hope when you're
not so interested in that thing keep
going and remember that that fire was
there and the thing is at least for me I
think when there's a passion it can it
can wane and go up and down but it
always returns so once you have a
passion take those early few steps which
are always the hardest and then just
keep going just keep going one step at a
time keep grinding it out and believe
it's gonna work out so one of the most
important thing is to finish to finish
building something cool don't not too
ambitious something small something cool
something hopefully new and then show it
off to people show it off to me and I'll
share it with the world it might not be
me me it might be others and just
putting yourself out there in the world
and you never know what might happen I
think in many ways I feel highly
undeserving of the things I've gotten I
have worked extremely hard but I feel
that there's a lot of people that also
work hard and are better than me at a
lot of the things that I do so I've been
just really fortunate but I've also seen
the magic of just being kind to people
working hard and putting things you love
out there and the beauty of the internet
as it is is
when you put stuff you love out there
something good will happen something
magical will happen it might not be the
kind of success you imagined but it will
be a kind of success that would be
really fulfilling if you hear if you
allow your sort of if you open your
heart to it so like don't be constrained
at thinking that you know education MIT
or Stanford is a definition of success
success might be your own business
success might be working for a small
start-up that brings you joy success
might be using your software engineering
skills in your 20s to help out a farmer
in agriculture or a lawyer in a legal
profession or a doctor in medical like
the journey might take you all kinds of
places but as long as you allow yourself
to be carried by your passion you'll
you'll discover something magical again
without jealousy with honesty with
hardwork with kindness just putting
yourself out there I think magical
things happen but let me tell you once
again as you mentioned disadvantage I
think disadvantage on an individual
level I believe you have to see it as a
gift for yourself you have to see it as
a superpower because when your story is
written and I'm confident it will be
written it'll be a great story and
chapter two and three will include a
bunch of disadvantages a bunch of
hardships you have to overcome in fact
chapter 4 5 and 6 will be hardship -
it's only the later chapters you get to
have a little bit more fun but really I
think overcoming hardship
it's kind of the fun part in life so
call me crazy but I would recommend not
to listen to anybody who tells you to be
safe to find a stable job I'll listen to
your heart listen to your passion take
bold big risks when you're young that is
the time to do it or card build stuff
put it on github share it with the world
give joy and/or value to others and I
think however this crazy world works
with love and karma it will it it will
repay you in the end
so good luck I believe in you can't wait
to listen to the book about your life on
audiobook when I run in my 80s so
Zecharia I'm cheering for you and so is
the rest of the world so good luck
you