55. Max

When Max was 3 I bought a map of the United States made of magnets, and we put it on the refrigerator. I love maps and travel and knowing about states, so I thought this would be a cool toy for Max. We put it up, and I taught him his first state: Maryland.

We were all so proud and happy, and I figured I could teach him one a day, and in a couple months he would know all the states.

But Max didn’t feel like waiting until the next day. Max wanted to learn another one right now. And another one. And another one. I tried to slow him down, thinking they probably wouldn’t really stick in his head if he learned too many at once. But he learned all the states in a week. And he loved putting them up and down on the refrigerator and proclaiming the names.

That is Max. He has intense interests and an amazing brain. When something clicks with him, he wants to just keep clicking.

He’s had many loves since the Refrigerator-Map days, ranging from building the perfect rubber band gun to cryptology. And each one has been a deep dive into learning and problem solving.

These days his interest is Consciousness.

I don’t mean that Max likes to BE conscious, which he certainly does, but that he likes to think about and understand consciousness. Which might be impossible, but he likes to try it anyway.

He likes Thomas Nagel’s question “What is it like to be a bat?” because if there is “something it’s like to be it” there must be consciousness.

And Annaka Harris’s question “Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious?

And Tom Harris’s question “Is there free will?”

Don’t you just love it when someone goes all-in? Why is that? For me, I think it’s because they are so enthusiastic and committed, it feels like they are living boldly. They are spending their time in a way that matters to them.

And that is the way I see Max. Curious, open, and living all-in.