Here are five questions for Jimmy Wales:
DS: What is one thing you think every American should know?
JW: The text of the First Amendment.
DS: If you had the option to have been born another nationality than your current one, which nationality would you choose?
JW: United Kingdom.
DS: What is one misconception people have about you?
JW: People imagine that I am remote and inaccessible when in fact I am right here in email, totally available to anyone who wants to talk to me. I prefer the company of people who care.
DS: Is there anyone’s death, either in your life or in popular culture, whose passing you were surprised by how profoundly it affected you?
JW: No, I have been quite fortunate in this regard.
DS: In life we often have goals that we feel as if would just die if we don’t reach them. Sometimes we reach them, sometimes we don’t. The question is, have you ever worked to fulfill a goal, only to find that once you achieved it, the experience was a let down? It meant something to you when you did not have it. Then you obtained it and, after the initial excitement, you thought to yourself, “Is that all there is?” Have you ever had an experience like that?
JW: Sure! As a young man I dreamed of owning a Ferrari. When I was finally able to do so, it turned out to be the worst car I ever owned. Seriously. It was gorgeous, a work of art to admire, but a very serious let down in terms of the experience. This led me to treasure people more than things.
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE – A SERIES
- BILLY NAME – Famous Warhol live-in photographer; silverized the Factory; shot the cover of the Velvet Underground’s eponymous album; iconic portraits of Lou Reed and Edie Sedgwick…I have five questions for you.
(Jimmy Wales photo: Joi Ito via Wikipedia)
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