Bill Gates

1305 Words3 Pages

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." -Bill Gates (Bill 1). Microsoft Windows, as of October 2013, is used by approximately 85 percent of all laptops and desktops worldwide (StatCounter 1). The Windows operating system is the pride and joy of the programmer, inventor, and co-founder of Microsoft, William Henry Gates III. His impact on the world has been astronomical resulting in many advancements in science and technology that just wouldn’t have been possible without him. In order to fully understand his significance and influence in the world, one must be knowledgeable of his background, the critics view of his most famous achievement, and must have a discussion about his impact and importance in the modern world.
William Henry Gates grew up in a very healthy and nurturing environment. Gates was born in Seattle Washington on October 28, 1955 where he was the middle child of two sisters Kristi and Libby Gates (Bellis 1). His parents Mary and William Gates were both highly successful, his mother was a school teacher but decided to instead focus more on home life, and his father was an attorney at law (Bill 1). The Gates family was very competitive and always rewarded the victor in a competition while punishing the loser (Bill 1). This operant conditioning led to the development of Gates’ highly competitive personality and played a prominent role throughout his lifetime. Bill Gates, as he was commonly called, attended middle school at Lakeside School, a private preparatory school, in which he excelled in all of his subjects, particularly math and science (Bellis 2). His favorite hobby as a child was reading, as he spent a majority of his time pouring over encyclopedias and oth...

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