Ben Collver's Heroes ==================== Below is information about a few people who inspired me. I feel a certain kinship with their ideals. Michael Hart ------------ Michael Hart Michael Hart was a man ahead of his time. I became aware of Project Gutenberg in the 1990's. I remember reading a newsletter where Michael Hart wrote predictions for his project. I felt skeptical about his ambitious projections for exponential growth in the number of freely downloadable books. Though his predictions were not immediately possible, they became possible thanks to improvements in mass storage, Internet access, and the popularity of Project Gutenberg. In my correspondence with Michael Hart, his writing struck me as articulate and humble. He was willing to explain things without talking down to me. Michael Hart photos and writings Project Gutenberg John Muir --------- John Muir John Muir was a brilliant lad who aspired to be an inventor and work with machines. He found work setting up machines in factories. He experienced a series of accidents, and the last one left him blind. Muir decided that if he did recover his sight, he would not return to work in industry, but rather would travel the world... He followed the callings of his heart. His writing clearly conveys his reverence for nature. > Like everybody else I was always fond of flowers, attracted by > their external beauty and purity. Now my eyes were opened to their > inner beauty, all alike revealing glorious traces of the thoughts > of God, and leading on and on into the infinite cosmos. John Muir, saint of the American wilderness John Muir @Wikipedia P.R. Sarkar ----------- P.R. Sarkar P.R. Sarkar came with a mission: planetary transformation. Through his actions and teachings he inspired many people to take an active responsibility for humanity's welfare. He worked to create ambitious solutions. For example, AMURT provides disaster relief around the globe. He also composed the Prabhat Samgiita, a collection of 5,018 sacred songs. AMURT disaster relief organization P.R. Sarkar @Wikipedia Jason Scott ----------- Jason Scott Jason Scott is an archivist who used to work as a Unix systems administrator. His career was financially rewarding but ultimately unsatisfactory. What he really enjoyed was his hobby preserving artifacts of bygone BBS culture. Many would expect this to be a labor of love and not a legitimate career. However, Jason wrote his own job title and found employment as an archivist. Now he gets paid to play all day long doing what he enjoys most. Jason Scott @Wikipedia Opal Whiteley ------------- Opal Whiteley Opal Whiteley grew up in logging camps around Cottage Grove, Oregon. She found it easier to befriend wild animals, flowers, and trees than her human peers. She learned from direct observation. She attended the University of Oregon in Eugene, and the professors wrote that she had already acquired greater knowledge and understanding of botany and geology than many of the university graduates. Her personality was otherworldly. For example, one day she was late to class and was found out on the lawn on her hands and knees, singing to an earthworm. Apparently, the earthworm was enjoying it. Opal Whiteley @Wikipedia