Zakaria asks, "Dr. Lex, I'm a high school student in Libya. I am very interested in new technology and artificial intelligence, and I've 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 of you replying to this. What a world we're in, that a kid from nowhere can be asking questions of an MIT researcher." Zakaria, 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 and to the point.

I think it's wonderful that you reached out and that you have a clarity to your passion. Don't lose track of that in your college years and 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 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, what we're struggling as a society to understand now, 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 circumstance is 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 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 it to the world. Build it, complete it, and show it 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 them value, just even the smallest possible thing. So that might start at first by reimplementing 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 that 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 wane, it can 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. 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, 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 that 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 imagine, but it will be a kind of success that'll be really fulfilling if you hear it, if you allow your sort of, if you open your heart to it. So like, don't be constrained at thinking that education, MIT, or Stanford is a definition of success.

Success might be your own business. Success might be working for a small startup 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 discover something magical.

Again, without jealousy, with honesty, with hard work, 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 four, five, and six will be hardship too. It's only the later chapters you get to have a little bit more fun, but really, I think overcoming hardship is 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. Listen to your heart, listen to your passion. Take bold, big risks when you're young. That is the time to do it. Work hard, 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 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 Zachariah, I'm cheering for you, and so is the rest of the world.

So good luck. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)