norbert weiner was 12 years old when rachel carson was born. but he was the most unlikely 12 year old. well others his age were in fifth or sixth grade. he was entering his freshman year at tufts university. in 1906. that was the that was the article in in the world calling in the most remarkable in the world. and it's hard to imagine anyone who better fit that title. he told the world reporter. he had learned much more from reading ernest heckles the riddle of the university in german than homer in greek since homer was just telling stories. yes, he said of course. he looked have fun swimming is my forte. he said but i like studying too when i have participated in the boys games. i turned to my huxley or my spencer. suggestions for them which led my mind to greater things. so these greater things we never goes to ends up at mit extremely eccentric character widely acknowledges a genius of peculiar life. it's actually i wish we had more time to read about some of norbert wieners peculiarities because they are really something but what you know,

any discussion of serious issues to take a moment for some humor, i'd like to read more about norbert weiner. >> please. >> this is weiner after he established as a well-known figure, as a genius. he's at m.i. tflt. he was fluent in a dozen languages. as a colleague put it, a foreigner wherever he was. he got lost easily at his frequent meanders through the lab where is he worked for 45 years. some labs posted lookouts to warn of his approach because weiner was known to cut into ongoing conversations abruptly and out of context. while reading a book or lost in thought, he would walk the halls with one finger tracing the wall. when he reached the open toor of a classroom or laboratory, he was known to follow his finger inside and around its walls back to the hallway. when he stopped to have a conversation, he sometimes forgot which way he had been walking. once he asked whether he had been walking toward the lunchroom or away from it so he would know if he had lunch or not. >> my favorite is he swam on his back so he could smoke a cigar while he was swimming. >> my father did the same thing.