I'm starting this post by assuming you know who Seymour Papert is. But since I don't know who will read this, maybe I shouldn't. Papert is, in my opinion, one of the greatest minds in education of the last 100 years. A former MIT professor of mathematics, he has always been fascinated with how children learn. He is the inventor of the Logo programming language (and turtles!), a chief force behind the OLPC initiative, and an outspoken proponent for developing a sense of wonder in education, as well as a fierce opponent of all "education" that kills that sense of wonder.

In 2006, he was struck by a motorbike in Hanoi and suffered massive brain damage. He had several brain surgeries there and was then airlifted back to Massachusetts. A year ago, he went home to Maine and has been receiving around the clock care, including help from former colleagues as he attempts to rebuild his mental capacities. I found <a href = "http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/07/12/in_search_of_a_beautiful_mind/?page=1">this article</a> at once heartbreaking and inspiring.

I heard Papert speak at Squeakfest in Chicago in 2006, shortly before his accident. It was a high point of my professional career, and I posted my notes <a href = "http://cougar.e-lcds.org/wordpress/?p=37">here</a>.

My best wishes and thoughts go out to him. He continues to inspire me and countless others.