Hacker Profile: William Kamkwamba
Remember what you were doing at 14.
At 14 in Malawi, William Kamkwamba’s parents couldn’t afford to send him to school, so he used his free time to build an electricity-generating windmill — from scrap metal and spare parts… using only rough plans from a single library book about physics.
You can read all about his story in his fascinating book (I just finished it), The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It’s a straight-forward account of his life before, during, and after the construction of his now famous windmill; he endured everything from teasing to fear and scorn (that his tower was doing bad magic) because he believed in science and his parents believed in him.
We expanded Breadpig.com this April to focus more on the stories from around the world (thanks, Internet!) of people using technology (hi- and low-tech) to improve or affect their lives. The clever hackI got to meet William at TED Oxford and like so many others who’ve met him, were awed by his story. His TED Talks were great, we also interviewed him on reddit, but I enjoyed his Daily Show appearance best of all — especially when John asked about his college application process. [Video below]
This world is full of hackers like William and we want you to learn about them here, even before they end up on the TED stage. Mankind’s relationship with technology isn’t just illustrated with an iPad or peer-to-peer networks — it’s in every wheel and lever.
And breadpig wants to celebrate it all.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| William Kamkwamba | ||||
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Filed Under: Global Hackers
