Philip Gale was an American Internet software developer and a sophomore at MIT.
He gained recognition for developing Total Access while at MIT and was hired by EarthLink at 16 to further its development.
By 17, Gale had earned approximately a million dollars.
In 1995, Gale's father died from a heart attack, and friends said Gale struggled to come to terms with the loss.
On March 13, 1998, Gale jumped to his death from a classroom on the 15th floor of a building on the MIT campus.
Before he jumped he wrote Isaac Newton's equation for how an object accelerates as it falls on a blackboard along with a sketch of a stick figure tossing a chair. He signed it, "Phil was here".
His suicide note read:
Presumably I have jumped from a tall building. Yes, it is odd. To tell you why would be to tell you my mind! I cannot do this. I am not crazy, albeit driven to suicide. "It is not about any single event, or person. It is about stubborn sadness, and a detached view of the world. I see my life — so much dreary, mundane, wasted time wishing upon unattainable goals — and I feel little attachment to the future. But it is not so bad, relatively. I exaggerate. "In the end, it is that I am unwilling (sick of living) to live in mediocrity. And this is what I have chosen to do about it. "The saddest part is the inevitable guilt and sorrow I will force on my family and friends. But there is not much I can say. I am sorry. Try to understand that this is about me and my 'fuked up ideas.' It is not because I was raised poorly or not cared for enough. It just is. "Please give my $ to my family and my gizmos to people who will use them. — and no fuking suing! "I am scared of the fall. I am scared of the impact. But when it is through, it will be through. "take care world, Philip"
Philip Gale was an American Internet software developer and a sophomore at MIT.
He gained recognition for developing Total Access while at MIT and was hired by EarthLink at 16 to further its development.
By 17, Gale had earned approximately a million dollars.
In 1995, Gale's father died from a heart attack, and friends said Gale struggled to come to terms with the loss.
On March 13, 1998, Gale jumped to his death from a classroom on the 15th floor of a building on the MIT campus.
Before he jumped he wrote Isaac Newton's equation for how an object accelerates as it falls on a blackboard along with a sketch of a stick figure tossing a chair. He signed it, "Phil was here".
His suicide note read:
Presumably I have jumped from a tall building. Yes, it is odd. To tell you why would be to tell you my mind! I cannot do this. I am not crazy, albeit driven to suicide. "It is not about any single event, or person. It is about stubborn sadness, and a detached view of the world. I see my life — so much dreary, mundane, wasted time wishing upon unattainable goals — and I feel little attachment to the future. But it is not so bad, relatively. I exaggerate. "In the end, it is that I am unwilling (sick of living) to live in mediocrity. And this is what I have chosen to do about it. "The saddest part is the inevitable guilt and sorrow I will force on my family and friends. But there is not much I can say. I am sorry. Try to understand that this is about me and my 'fuked up ideas.' It is not because I was raised poorly or not cared for enough. It just is. "Please give my $ to my family and my gizmos to people who will use them. — and no fuking suing! "I am scared of the fall. I am scared of the impact. But when it is through, it will be through. "take care world, Philip"
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