Bill Gates is the most famous businessman in the world. Many pages have been written about how he has dominated the revolution in personal computing. But we know little about him as a person. Here’s a familiar anecdote which may show his personality:

When Bill Gates was in the sixth grade, his parents decided that he needed some kind of help. He was at war with his mother Mary, an extrovert woman who believed that he should do what she told him. She would call him to dinner from his bedroom, which she had given up trying to make him clean, but he wouldn’t respond.

“What are you doing?” she once asked him.

“I’m thinking,” Bill answered.

“You’re thinking?”

“Yes, Mom, I’m thinking,” he said aggressively. “Have you tried thinking?”

Finally, his parents decided to send him to a psychologist. The psychologist concluded that Bill was extremely intelligent. After a one-year session and a large number of tests, the psychologist told Bill’s parents: “You’re going to lose. You had better adjust to it because there’s no use trying to punish him. It’s useless to try to compete with him.” A lot of computer companies have concluded the same.