
Paul Allen has died - coloneltcb
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/15/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-dies-of-cancer-at-age-65.html
======
dhairya
I had an opportunity to work at both the Allen Institute for Artificial
Intelligence (AI2) and the Allen Institute for Brain Science (AIBs). I was
part of the 10 year strategic planning efforts at AI2. Paul Allen was both
involved and hands-off in the support of the leadership AI2 and AIBs. It was a
rare balance and Paul Allen knew how to create the conditions for innovation
and novel research breakthroughs with micromanaging.

Additionally, Paul Allen was an advocate for open science. Through AI2 he
directly supported arxiv.org and funded the development of Semantic Scholar. I
had an opportunity to participate in a gathering of scientists, academics and
publishers organized by Vulcan and the Allen Institutes to investigate
innovations to support open science. Alexandra Elbakyan (founder of Scihub)
was skyped in (technically on the run) to share her advocacy of accessible and
open science. It was surprising and inspiring to see that Paul Allen provided
Alexendra a platform to share her experience (especially as several major
publishers were in attendance).

His lasting legacy in AI will be the support of Semantic Scholar and the
Alexandria (common sense) project. In neuroscience research, AIBs has made
major breakthroughs in mapping the mouse brain and producing prolific open
datasets (Allen Brain Atlas) to support research.

In Seattle, it was hard to not run into the influence of Paul Allen. From the
Seattle Seahawks to the Museum of Popular Culture (MoPoP), Paul Allen had an
impact everywhere in Seattle.

It is sad to see him pass away. He has a immense impact on both Seattle and
scientific research. I hope both AI2 and AIBs will continue doing amazing work
as part of his legacy.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
> In Seattle, it was hard to not run into the influence of Paul Allen. From
> the Seattle Seahawks to the Museum of Popular Culture (MoPoP), Paul Allen
> had an impact everywhere in Seattle.

The whole South Lake Union urban office park that Amazon now dominates was
Paul Allen's work also. (see [https://www.seattletimes.com/business/timeline-
of-paul-allen...](https://www.seattletimes.com/business/timeline-of-paul-
allen-and-vulcans-interest-in-south-lake-union/))

~~~
piffey
Only after Seattle voters rejected his much better Seattle Commons plan though
([http://www.historylink.org/File/8252](http://www.historylink.org/File/8252)).
Shame really.

~~~
jorblumesea
Seattle voters have a track record of rejecting good things. See: The Rapid
Transit Plan from the 70s.

At least we passed ST3...

------
PostOnce
Many here have noted his many large-scale philanthropic efforts, which are
fantastic, and often benefit our whole species.

But my personal favorite, even if it doesn't benefit large swaths of humanity
in the same way as a cell research insitute:

[https://livingcomputers.org/](https://livingcomputers.org/)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Computers:_Museum_%2B_L...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Computers:_Museum_%2B_Labs)

It's a computer museum, but they work. They're turned on, and you can use
them! You can program them; you can even get an account to access ancient
computers over the internet (via telnet).

For example, look at the cool as hell control panel and general design of this
thing!
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Sigma_9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Sigma_9)
\-- light bulbs add something to computers that LEDs don't. :)

If nothing else, it makes us nerds happy. Thanks, Paul.

~~~
Stratoscope
That Sigma 9 photo brings back fond memories. An earlier version, the Sigma 5,
was my first personal computer! Back in 1968.

I was hired as "night operator" for a timesharing company in Phoenix called
Transdata. Their service ran on a Sigma 5, but they didn't offer the service
at night.

So my graveyard shift gave me full access to the Sigma 5 to do whatever I
wanted. I learned BASIC, assembly language, and Algol 60. And the art of
writing an entire useful program on a single punch card.

One single-card program we used a lot was a simple print program. You'd put
the program card at the front of the deck, and it would load and then print
out the contents of all the cards after it.

Only problem was it was a bit slow. It had a single buffer that it read a card
into, then printed the contents, then read the next card and so on.

I looked at it and realized I could squeeze in just enough code to make it
double-buffered. It could read the next card at the same time it was printing
the previous one. Twice as fast!

Not much by today's standards (unless you're into code golfing), but it was a
lot of fun at the time.

~~~
efigle2501
That story really makes me wonder if my understanding of computers would be
deeper, or more complete in some way, if I'd had that sort of
background/experience...

~~~
baudehlo
Take a course on compilers. It will teach you these things and give you a much
more fundamental understanding.

~~~
linuxlizard
Seconded! Also play with assembly language for a small CPU, even in an
emulator. Doing assembly in the 68k and Z80 really helped me grok computers.
Even the old assembly makes super CPUs of today more understandable.

------
Qworg
I worked as Paul's technical adviser at Vulcan - he was funny, warm, and
prickly in turns, well aware of the outsized shadow he cast, and absolutely
dedicated to bringing the sci-fi future he so loved into reality.

His legacy in the Institutes, in his philanthropic ventures, and in the bones
of Seattle itself cannot be overstated. Outside of the sciences, he built
South Lake Union (home of Amazon and many other tech companies), saved the
Seahawks, supported thousands of famous musicians, and played a mean guitar
himself.

I'll miss him.

~~~
zamalek
> absolutely dedicated to bringing the sci-fi future he so loved into reality.

We need more people like this.

Some of this stuff might be impossible, but there is only one way to find out.
It takes a great person to throw themselves into the machine of failure for
the benefit of humanity.

It is, ultimately, also philanthropy - it's just philanthropy on a timescale
that is far greater than one life and far more than a few [million] lives.

People who push humanity forwards will be remembered forever - through their
name on someone's lips, or their legacy in someone's hands. In many ways these
type of people are immortal.

~~~
nhlx2
>It takes a great person to throw themselves into the machine of failure for
the benefit of humanity.

Great line!

------
pg_bot
Incredibly sad news, only two weeks after he learned the disease returned.

For those who don't know, he was also apparently a very capable guitar player,
who according to Quincy Jones could "sing and play just like Jimi Hendrix".

Play one more riff in the sky computer man.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAYY-
MmonYU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAYY-MmonYU)

~~~
adventured
To be clear, it hasn't been stated that it was only two weeks after he learned
the disease returned. That's when it was publicly acknowledged by Allen. He
only said that it was recent that he learned about the recurrence. That could
mean it was several months ago and Allen may have chosen for personal reasons
to keep that information private.

------
snake117
This is a sad day. Paul Allen certainly had many achievements, but one of his
endeavors that I truly admire is the founding and funding of the Allen
Institute [0], especially after I had the pleasure of attending Christof
Koch's lecture at the American Academy of Neurology annual conference two
years ago [1].

Thank you for everything. You are truly an inspiration. RIP.

[0] -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Institute)

[1] - [https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-
science/about/te...](https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-
science/about/team/staff-profiles/christof-koch/)

~~~
romwell
Also, as an aviation enthusiast, I am really thankful for the Flying Heritage
museum, which is one of his endeavors.

Keeping historically important aircraft airworthy is something that is keeping
the _dream_ of aviation alive. It is too sad that so many have been scrapped
(the great flying boats all but went extinct), but this is one effort that
sets an example - and benefits the humanity.

[1][https://flyingheritage.org/](https://flyingheritage.org/)

[2][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Heritage_%26_Combat_Arm...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Heritage_%26_Combat_Armor_Museum)

------
gdubs
Such sad news. Paul Allen was a friend of a friend, and so we got to go to a
couple of his halloween parties up in Beverly Crest in Los Angeles. He was
incredibly down to earth and generous. His parties were a blast – the main
fixture was always him playing with a live band. He loved rock-and-roll music.
We bumped into Dan Aykroyd at one of them, dressed as his character from Blues
Brothers.

He wrote an autobiography called "Idea Man", which I'd recommend if you want
to know more about the man who was quietly behind the revolution in computing
that brought all of us here today.

R.I.P., Paul Allen :(

------
oliyoung
SpaceShipOne, owned the Seahawks and the Blazers, sunk $500m in brain
research, $100m into cell research another $100m into AI, started the -Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame- Museum of Pop

He made a dent.

~~~
lnrdgmz
Do you mean Museum of Pop? (not Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

~~~
oliyoung
That's the one! Thanks!

~~~
danhorner
Previously known as EMP - the experience music project

------
rococode
We just had a giant "get well" card out last week for people to sign for him
at UW's CS department (he's donated enough to us that we're named after him,
the Paul G. Allen School of CSE). Almost surreal to see that he passed so
soon. It's fortunate that he at least had the time to make a great positive
impact on the world; his legacy will live on in many ways.

~~~
Fomite
As a fellow member of a Paul G. Allen School (in this case the Global Animal
Health one at WSU) I'm a little stunned - but he has indeed made a huge impact
on the world.

------
joe_the_user
I have to mention an article by Allen which I think is the single best
critique of the idea fo the "singularity" which I have seen.

Paul Allen: The Singularity Isn't Near

[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/425733/paul-allen-the-
sin...](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/425733/paul-allen-the-singularity-
isnt-near/)

~~~
etatoby
_> There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth._

When you know somebody didn't take calculus or didn't "get" it.

Either that, or he didn't explain what he meant.

(Not Paul Allen, just another interviewee.)

~~~
jodrellblank
Interviewee? That's a quote from Google Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil)

~~~
sterlind
d/dt e^t = e^t. So while vapid and pop-sci, technically true. Of course, the
exponent is constant or we'd be talking about the Ackermanity instead.

~~~
grumdan
Technically true, but the quote makes it sound as if this were not necessarily
the case for some kinds of exponential growth, which is clearly false.

------
melling
Paul wrote an autobiography:

Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft

[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18allen.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18allen.html)

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_Man](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_Man)

~~~
PostOnce
It's a good read.

I often wonder what would have become of him had his parents not had the
forethought to send him to Lakeside School; his family wasn't rich like Bill
Gates' family; I imagine, with money, Gates would have done well whether or
not he had gone to that school, but if Allen hadn't, and therefore hadn't met
Gates, where would have gone?

It makes me think long and hard about my children's education. They'll get a
fantastic education regardless of what school they go to, since we'll learn at
home, but just how important is the networking? Does that itself supercede the
education?

I guess biographies always make you ask yourself these what if questions, and
often apply them to yourself.

~~~
adventured
It's an interesting thought experiment with Allen, because he provided the
unrelenting prompting to start Microsoft. As you know from the book (and Gates
has confirmed this numerous times), he urged Gates repeatedly that they should
start a company focused on software to capitalize on the burgeoning personal
computing era. Finally convincing him when the famous January 1975 issue of
Popular Electronics came out with the Altair 8800 on the cover.

Allen very plausibly was even more of an entrepreneur personality type than
Gates was. It seems likely that Allen may well have pursued founding his own
company in the absence of Gates.

From a very young age, Allen apparently had a strong penchant for science and
technology. Striking out on your own, then as now, is maybe the best way to
leap forward with new technology, versus laboring in the corner of a stuffy,
conservative corporate behemoth like Honeywell (where Allen worked) or IBM.

Lakeside at a minimum very likely accelerated by several years his
introduction to computer programming, due to the resources the school had.
Then on top of that, he had a small group of friends to pursue those
adventures with thanks to Lakeside, and they all had access to the same tech.
The amplification value of all of that, has to be considerable.

~~~
PostOnce
But as he also admits in the book, he would pursue anything and everything,
but Bill Gates would temper his expectations and help direct energy in a
productive direction; so, it's possible--or even likely, I think--that Paul
Allen would have started one of the many, many computer companies that didn't
succeed. i.e. a PC manufacturer with a million competitors.

Of course, it's also possible he would have been wildly successful as an early
entrant. Who can say?

------
dpq
When I was a kid, programmers - the elders, those whose lives and achievements
had been described in all my introductory books - seemed to be immortal,
because all these people who changed the world and created the wonderful
universe of computers and software - they were all alive then (at least those
I knew and cared about). That time is long gone now... and we are no longer
immortal. We have lost so many of our kind. And today, we have lost yet
another titan. R.I.P. Paul Allen. The world will remember you. And the kids of
tomorrow, and the day after that will still discover our wonderful world
reading books mentioning and revering your name. Alas, in the past tense now.
Goodbye.

~~~
koiz
At least the ideas are immortal.

~~~
WalterSear
"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve
immortality through not dying. I don't want to live on in the hearts of my
countrymen; I want to live on in my apartment."

\- Woody Allen

~~~
verelo
Great quote, creepy guy.

------
minimaxir
2 weeks ago:
[https://twitter.com/PaulGAllen/status/1046864324310982668](https://twitter.com/PaulGAllen/status/1046864324310982668)

> Some personal news: Recently, I learned the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma I battled
> in 2009 has returned. I’ve begun treatment & my doctors are optimistic that
> I will see a good result. Appreciate the support I’ve received & count on it
> as I fight this challenge

Just now:
[https://twitter.com/PaulGAllen/status/1051958128885940226](https://twitter.com/PaulGAllen/status/1051958128885940226)

~~~
pcurve
Wow can your condition go south that quickly?

~~~
6nf
My uncle went to the dentist complaining of bit of bleeding in his gums. The
dentist immediately sent him to get blood tests done and the next day he was
diagnosed with leukaemia. Three days later he passed away.

~~~
ribs
Like Arthur Kane, bass player for the New York Dolls. Goes to the hospital
thinking he has the flu, is diagnosed with leukemia, 2 hours - HOURS - later,
he dies.

~~~
whywhywhywhy
Last time I went to the doctor with extreme flu like symptoms (Pretty sure I
had pneumonia) the doctor treated me like I was wasting her time and actually
ridiculed me. Hearing stuff like this stresses me the heck out.

This was the often praised UK NHS btw

~~~
cultus
I had a doctor be dismissive and rude for coming in with a huge crater blister
(from climbing) on my foot that had become infected, hot to the touch, and too
painful for me to walk. This was in America, and I had good health insurance.
As crappy as the Tories are making the NHS, it's still better than what we
have.

~~~
mcv
I got to my (Dutch) doctor for far smaller things than these. Really trivial
stuff. But I go because I'm not sure what it is and I prefer to be on the safe
side. I'm always taken seriously, even when it's nothing.

I guess the Dutch system is not so bad after all. Or maybe you've got bad luck
in that doctor, and I'm fortunate to have a good one. There's always some bad
apples in every group.

------
CydeWeys
For whatever reason, I always remember him for the Allen Telescope Array:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Telescope_Array](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Telescope_Array)

Not many are willing to donate that much into funding a project whose chance
of success is small, but whose success would change everything.

~~~
8bitsrule
A worthy, pioneering investment.

I'll also remember Paul for the Museum of Pop Culture, a wonderful gift to the
Pacific Northwest. Born as the 'Experience Music Project' in 2000, it has
since added a Sci-Fi museum which became the SFF Hall of Fame. Much
appreciated by all fans of pop music and sci-fi, and a location for numerous
cultural and educational events.

------
denzil_correa
Paul Allen on Gates, Microsoft (CBS 60 minutes)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IM0SvIiMI4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IM0SvIiMI4)

~~~
richev
From Australia

> The uploader has not made this video available in your country.

Does anyone have a link that is viewable outside the US?

~~~
obscura
Odd - I'm not in the US and I can view it. Here's a link for you:
[https://openload.co/f/FFCGebcsLxY/Paul_Allen_on_Gates%2C_Mic...](https://openload.co/f/FFCGebcsLxY/Paul_Allen_on_Gates%2C_Microsoft.mp4)

------
hprotagonist
The world is a better place because the Allen Institutes exist. A worthy
legacy, and a worthy way to spend one's riches.

------
brandonwamboldt
Paul was among the top philanthropists in America, and has contributed so much
to society. Truly a sad day

~~~
adventured
Incredibly sad day. The Allen Institute for Brain Science, for one example, is
a gem of potential for humanity.

------
wslh
I wonder why nobody mentioned Interval Research[1] several people around the
Smalltalk/Squeak scene worked there.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_Research_Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_Research_Corporation)

~~~
zik
I worked there for a while around 2000, after Interval was drastically
downsized. Among other things they'd been working on a prototype "web tablet",
ten years before the iPad. They did some good work there.

------
bradneuberg
Really sad to hear this. He was one of the early financial supporters of
Scaled Composites in their successful bid for the X-Prize, as well as a great
supporter of the Allen Telescope Array for both astrophysics and SETI
applications. Always had respect for Paul Allen.

------
1auralynn
This is so sad. I met him once when my company was doing some work for Vulcan
and I was impressed that his manner was so understated but SHARP, he just
"got" things very quickly.

My favorite anecdote from that time period was someone telling me that the
first time they met him they were seated next to each other at dinner and he
turned and asked "So, what's your favorite shark?"

(I mean I think it was at a dinner for something to do with the ocean/sharks
so not totally crazy, but still - charming)

RIP

------
edw519
The heroes of the masses are often those in the spotlight.

My heroes have always been those in the background who were more concerned
about getting work done than talking about it.

I can think of no better example than Paul Allen.

So sorry to hear this. R.I.P.

------
EnderMB
Outside of his work at Microsoft, I was mainly aware of him through his
ownership of the Seattle Sounders in MLS. I live in the UK, where we have
world-class football teams aplenty, but I think the Sounders were the first
team in MLS that I saw that had the ownership and the facilities to be taken
seriously in any league around the world. It's a shame CNBC missed his
ownership of that team, because he's done as great a job with them as he had
done with the Seahawks.

I searched him up on Sunday while at the Seahawks game in London, and I saw
that he was undergoing treatment, but his Twitter post made it seem like
things were going well and that he'd pull through, so it's been a real shock
to see that he's died.

He sounded like a great guy, and it's always nice to see the successful ones
be great guys. Co-founder of Microsoft, a set of successful sports teams,
numerous philanthropic donations and organisations. RIP.

~~~
rconti
I'm glad you mentioned the Sounders, because nobody else has.

I grew up in the Seattle area, and the constant threats of sports teams
leaving (Mariners, Sonics, Seahawks) were sort of tiring. As a kid, I was
thrilled to see the Mariners stay (Nintendo backed that one, IIRC) and enjoyed
the new stadium. The Sonics got away (I'm guessing Allen already owned the
Blazers at the time..?) but he was instrumental in keeping the Seahawks.

Around the time CenturyLink field was built, the Sounders became an MLS team.
I don't remember the exact history, and I left Seattle around that time, but
it's been awesome to see Seattle rally behind a top notch soccer team; the fan
base is one of the strongest in the US, and the regional rivalry with the
Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps is a lot of fun to follow.

To be honest, the Sounders have the kind of following and give the city the
kind of energy any city would be proud to have.

------
drallison
Paul Allen has died. It's sad. I remember him from the very early days when
the Altair was new and Microsoft BASIC was the language of choice and the
People's Computer Company was publishing computer games. Paul exuded a quiet
confidence in those days punctuated by droll humor. Better, he put his money
where his imagination went and has left the world a better place. For
greybeards, the Living Computer Museum is a joy to behold.

------
romed
I met Allen down at Scaled Composites. He wanted to shoot people into space
for fun, which I totally respect. World needs more like him, not fewer. RIP.

------
ChuckMcM
Paul definitely put a pretty big dent in the personal computer universe. And I
really love the Living Computer Museum.

------
pastor_elm
One of the first people to sign on to the Giving Pledge. Worth 20 billion
according to wiki. Owns the Seattle Seahawks and the Trailblazers. Will these
be sold off? Will be a true test of the Pledge.

~~~
dgant
NFL rules require that an NFL team have a majority owner (with Green Bay
grandfathered as an exception).

It will likely have to be sold.

~~~
tecleandor
Could it be a Corp or an NGO ? Or does it have to be a natural person?

------
ArtWomb
"What we did was unprecedented. But what is less well understood is that we
had no choice." _-Idea Man_

RIP. An engineering titan. And humanitarian colossus. In addition to his
triumphs in computation, philanthropy and neuroscience. His deep sea
exploration team discovered the final resting places of some of the worst
disasters in naval history: USS Indianapolis, USS Lexington, and USS Juneau.
The images evoke a final frontier frozen in time. Befitting the legacy of one
who forever tacked the course and speed of human affairs. We have have only
ourselves now to fulfill that legacy of rapid progress into the era of a New
Space age!

[https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/paul-allen-
lexin...](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/paul-allen-lexington-
underwater-discovery-spd/)

------
cheeze
He's done a ton for Seattle. A few of my favorite less known things he
contributed are the Living Computer Museum and Flying Heritage Collection.

May he rest in peace.

------
WalterBright
Paul Allen did a wonderful job restoring old aircraft and creating a flying
museum. [https://flyingheritage.org/](https://flyingheritage.org/)

------
drawkbox
Paul Allen did enough good for hundreds of lifetimes in one. Allen's skills
helped create Microsoft/Windows and allowed him to attain wealth which he also
used for good reasons, funding brain, medical research and history as well as
fun and entertainment. Allen is the type of person you want people, and
especially wealthy, to be, supporting good efforts and being a force for good
in humanity.

------
jessriedel
Interesting to see the many initial attempts to edit Allen's Wikipedia page
were reverted as possible vandalism.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Allen&action...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Allen&action=history)

~~~
hk__2
Adding a death date on the page on a well-known individual without any source
is the easiest way to get quickly reverted.

~~~
chris_wot
As it should be.

~~~
giancarlostoro
Indeed though if a bunch of different users are doing it, you might want to
allow it with a citation needed marker. I've been to so many articles with a
"citation needed" marker for years, but surely it would not be too complex for
someone to find a source.

~~~
chris_wot
Actually, that's not the purpose of [citation needed]. Adding a death date
without a reference is very close to violation of [[WP:BIO]]. When I created
[citation needed], I didn't envision it to be used for just adding any old
data or information into articles, especially this sort of thing.

------
joeyspn
Sometimes I wonder what the tech industry could achieve if all companies
agreed to donate 1% of resources to find a cure for cancer. I know that
derived advances in tech (ML/Data Science, etc) have an impact but… is it
really enough? We could do sooo much more for contributing to eradicate this
disease.

RIP Paul Allen.

------
lucaslee
Whenever I see sad news like this, that a great person dies too early, it
reminds me that life is too precious and I am lucky to have more time to do
something meaningful. Take care of your body and do something that really
matters. RIP

------
cbron
As a kid who grew up outside of the tech scene but in Washington State, Allen
had a big impact on the wider community through his philanthropy and his love
of sports, he was well liked everywhere.

------
kidsnow
What!!??? But he didn't get to go into space yet :-(

------
asveikau
I don't know if there's an HN policy re: plugging charities, but speaking of
lymphoma, last I heard this one is legit: [http://lls.org](http://lls.org)

------
gajomi
I never met him, but he definitely had a big impact on my life. Like so many I
was first exposed to computer programming through Microsoft BASIC. These days
I make a living working as an engineer at one of his philanthropies. But what
I will maybe remember most is a weekly invitation he extended to come to his
pool, where I have helped teach my wife to swim in a relaxing environment. His
family and friends I am sure will be sad, but his impact lives on today.

------
msie
Wow, so disappointing that his wealth didn't help him this time. Was hopeful
that one of these experimental treatments we keep on hearing about would prove
fruitful.

~~~
micah94
...helped him 9 years ago. But cancer came back.

~~~
rasz
You would think a person with 20 billion net worth would fund a couple hundred
million a year net of institutes researching his particular disease, 'just in
case'.

------
hereiskkb
Simply reading the wonderful comments you guys makes me a bit teary. This is
what marks a great human being, someone who is remembered by the work they
have done.

------
djabatt
I have been working with him and his team at Vulcan on a project. I met him
once and he was super cool and deeply interesting within a few minutes of
talking with him. He had a way at taking the idea to the next level and not
getting bogged down in why it won't work. Vision and drive. His team at Vulcan
were all smart, creative and driven. I would work with them on anything. It is
a big shock and bummer to hear about him passing.

------
georgespencer
A titan. Very sad.

------
evil-olive
Fuck cancer.

------
buttholesurfer
As a programmer, one of the coolest places I've been is the living computer
museum in Seattle. I'm reading "idea man" right now. This guy was quite the
force. It's a big loss!!

------
patrickg_zill
I was really impressed with the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum. It is
quite a well put together display. Allen contributed heavily to it; I think
that it grew out of his personal collection.

------
Abhishek41783
I read his book Idea Man, a few years back. I still remember the parts where
he travelled the world with his family. Beautiful journey. Most books of
people so successful are too inclined towards their work or general advice. It
was refreshing to read about somebody you could relate to just like Shoe Dog
by Phil Knight. That they had lives outside of their work and went through
worse days than most of us will ever face. And yet, he made a difference in
the world he lived.

------
liftbigweights
Was never a fan of allen or microsoft as I felt that Microsoft's monopoly has
held back computing by a generation, but it's still sad to see cancer finally
get this guy after a lifetime of struggle. He left microsoft because of cancer
in the 80s. Hopefully he left much of his wealth for cancer research and lots
of good can come from that.

~~~
GioM
In the 90s, yes. But in the early 80s when there were dozens of different
computer architectures competing, the rise to dominance of MS-DOS brought
about the standardization of computer hardware on a single platform.

That, in turn, led to lower prices as hardware was commoditized, and to
accessibility for millions worldwide who could never before buy a computer.

~~~
snapdangle
So illegal practices are okay as long as they result in lower prices for the
consumer?

Actually, this reasoning checks out with current interpretations of monopoly
law. Carry on.

------
arountheworld
That is a reminder - no matter how rich you are, you have exactly the same
hours in the day as the guy sleeping under the bridge.

------
nyounker
Godspeed Good Sir. Thank you for all of your contributions that moved us as a
Society forward. You will be missed!

------
sureaboutthis
Does everyone know the story about when he told Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer
he had cancer back in the early days?

------
cmkumar
I recently had the opportunity to intern with Allen Institute for Artificial
Intelligence in Seattle. Paul Allen was an individual whom the general public
in Seattle spoke highly of in terms of his goodwill, magnanimity and
philanthropy to the people of Seattle and the US.

------
firemancoder
Incredibly tragic. He seemed like a very good man, and most certainly a titan
of our industry.

------
ausjke
RIP.

Microsoft lost one of its two founders, so did Apple. Two of the most
influential companies. How sad.

Amazon and Facebook are both a single man show, then we have Google, one of
the two founders also had some health issues, though much less serious.

------
palisade
One of my heroes. You'll be missed! Can we get a cure for cancer?!

------
orionblastar
He always amazed me because he never gave up even when he had cancer. He kept
on going and that took a lot of guts.

Steve Jobs was that way when he had cancer, kept on going until he passed on.

------
bocalogic
What an incredible loss on so many levels. 65 is young but look at everything
he did and his contributions speak for themselves. R.I.P. Paul and Godspeed

~~~
nashashmi
To think he was told he was going to die so many years go, yet it still never
stopped him from having ambitions as large as we have come to realize today.

------
bigbang
Wow, so sad. Like Jobs, he dying young is a loss to humanity.

~~~
gist
What? Loss to humanity? Sorry but he was no Steve Jobs or even close. He
exited Microsoft in 1982 and essentially spent money that he made off of
Microsoft (to do some good things let's say if you forget the patent
trolling). Not minimizing what he did that was positive but don't compare it
to Steve who actually did 'change the world' (no Jobs fanboy but need to point
out what he did was way more than Paul Allen).

Separately that OS that made Microsoft as everyone knows they bought from
another company.

~~~
prawn
What a time to get pedantic.

A space company, half a billion into brain research, tens of millions more in
other fields, environment efforts, multiple sports teams, cultural
investments, etc. That's a fair loss, and I think the first few qualify adding
"to humanity" as well.

Donated $2 billion in his lifetime.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen#Philanthropy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen#Philanthropy)

------
tomrod
RIP man. Thanks for all the good you did in the world.

------
leptoniscool
Life is short
[http://www.paulgraham.com/vb.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/vb.html)

------
koiz
This sucks.

------
natrik
Too young.

------
ainiriand
Can you imagine if we could have another ~30 years of Allen? Me neither. I
really hate cancer. RIP space guy.

------
ricardonunez
This is so sad. RIP Paul Allen. He did so much for he world. Just yesterday I
was talking about his work.

------
jsoc815
Sad. His autobiography, a fantastic read, gave me great perspective on
business and parenting.

------
kulu2002
One more amongst 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' passed away. RIP Paul Allen. :(

------
maz1b
Sad day. RIP Paul Allen. His legacy and contributions will have a lasting
impact forever.

------
x0rx0r
So Sad. You will be missed Paul. Thank you for all your hard work in
computers.

------
hamburglar1
Try getting a reservation at Dorsia now! RIP Paul, too soon

------
delidumrul
Life is transient, death is instant. Farewell, Paul Allen.

------
onetimemanytime
Whatever you think of MSFT at x time, Paul Allen was certainly a genius.
65...and worth untold billions. But then, maybe, he reached 65 because of
better treatment the first time. RIP.

------
vinayms
meta: what is the meaning of this post getting 2724 points (as of this
writing)? just a mechanism to bring it to first page?

~~~
ovrdrv3
Take a look at the top posts of all time:

[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

------
rdlecler1
I'm sure most of us were envious of his life, but almost no one would trade
places with him today. It goes to show that health really is more valuable
than money.

~~~
sytelus
Here's the thing... One rich-person-year is typically equal to 4 common-
person-year. Why? Rich people (defined here as folks with net worth of $100M+)
_can_ spend all of the time in things they desire. They can outsource almost
all of the chores like cleaning house or doing taxes or laundry or cooking
leaving more free time besides not having to do 8-hour jobs. Their
transportation and commute is frictionless and doesn't penalise their
_effective available lifespan_. They have approximately 13 hours available in
each day to acquire desired experiences while a common person has only 3
hours. Things are actually bit more worse for a common person because the
available experiences for them is far more limited. They can't fly out to
Paris in personal jet, have dinner in 3 star michelin restaurant and fly back
while taking a nap in cushy bed. In other words, a rich person typically gets
to have 4X _experiences_ in same period of time than a common person. In other
words, if human common-man life span was 60 years, the _effective_ life span
of a rich person is approximately 240 years.

~~~
monsieurbanana
What about all the studies (not that I've read them, so correct me if I'm
wrong, I just hear them referenced all the time) that says once you have the
minimum money needed to live comfortable, more money doesn't necessarily
increase happiness?

I have no reason to doubt your x4 common-year-person, but how does that relate
to happiness? Arguably the only metric that matters in the end.

By the way, private flying to paris and 3 star restaurants? Eh... not bad, but
what I'm really looking forward once I'm old is having enough free time to
play MMORPGs again.

------
emersonrsantos
Very Sad. Paul Allen, you will be missed.

------
textread
[https://goo.gl/pbXjwN](https://goo.gl/pbXjwN)

^ "We (almost) have BASIC" Allen calls MITS

------
hsikka
damn.

------
daferna
Sad day, he was one of the first to recognize the importance of neuroscience
and to fund it.

~~~
robotresearcher
This is of course completely untrue. Neuroscience has been major branch of
science for thousands of years, and funded pretty much constantly in human
memory.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience)

------
peter_retief
So sad to hear this, rest in peace, you did well

------
x220
Rest in peace

------
brian_herman
:(

------
sgolestane
:-( RIP

------
paxys
:(

------
jansan
Much too early. RIP Paul Allen.

------
tinktank
RIP Paul Allen

------
xpan
rip

------
gist
I am guessing that most people here have apparently forgotten about the patent
troll aspect of Paul Allen:

[https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100827/12001710802.shtml](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100827/12001710802.shtml)

Now I am sure there are those that will think it's in bad taste to bring this
up. However I am not saying this to family or friends at a funeral. I am
merely raising it so people can stop lionizing him because he was a co-founder
of Microsoft.

[https://www.businessinsider.com/the-woz-slams-paul-allen-
as-...](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-woz-slams-paul-allen-as-a-patent-
troll-2011-5)

Allen was with Microsoft for a short period of time and left pretty soon after
they struck the deal with IBM for the OS. 1982. Edit: As such he contributed a
nominal amount to Microsoft's success (and after all it was Bill Gates
connections and hustle that got that deal).

Also interesting that the wikipedia page has no mention of the patent trolling
it obviously appears to be cleaned of this info (as of this moment at least):

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen)

~~~
toomanybeersies
Most comments here seem to be remembering him for his philanthropy and
contributions to science and humanity, rather than for being a co-founder of
Microsoft.

It's an interesting contrast to the thread from 7 years ago about the death of
Steve Jobs [1]. Steve Jobs was a visionary, but he wasn't a philanthropist.
His legacy is Apple, Allen's legacy is his contributions to charity. Gates
will be the same, he will be remembered as the man who tried to eradicate
malaria, not the man who made Microsoft Windows.

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3078107](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3078107)

~~~
cyborgx7
phillantropy is a marketing ploy by rich people

you don't amass this much wealth without profiting off of the work of others
by exploiting a position of power, usually gained through ownership

------
modzu
fuck cancer

------
mikestew
Man, if ever it were black bar time...

One of the early giants of my teens.

~~~
urda
For sure it's a black bar time.

Edit: and it's up.

------
abireve
Died Worth $20b

------
joe_momma
a little too soon, imo

------
fibers
F

------
rwc
It's shocking to me that even now, hours after the announcement, Microsoft.com
is completely bereft of mentioning the news. I know Paul Allen's impact at MS
isn't akin to Bill Gates in popular culture, but it seems soulless to make no
effort whatsoever.

~~~
reachtarunhere
I think it depends on your location. I didn't see anything in Singapore till I
switched to the US version of the website.

------
stephengillie
Press "f" to pay respect.

~~~
redthrowaway
Not appropriate.

~~~
diminoten
Why not? It's for sure a meme, but it's used sincerely in many places as well.
Let's all mourn in our own ways, and not judge others for mourning in theirs.

~~~
oliveshell
In case you really can’t see why: because it’s _not actually respectful._ It’s
a dumb meme, it has nothing to do with Paul Allen, and– despite what you might
think– a lot of people won’t know what it means.

Humor can be a powerful tool for coping with grief, but something like this
reads as glib and disrespectful in a forum that holds itself to a higher
standard of discourse than the broader internet.

~~~
ry_ry
At what point are we no longer celebrating a life well lived?

Paul Allen loved computing, and funded a living computing museum, along with
with another museum dedicated to to pop culture. I wouldn't presume to know
how he'd feel about a meme based tribute, but I sure as heck wouldn't feel the
need to spit on one for not meeting my own criteria for respectfulness or
sincerity.

RIP. Paul Allen - one smart cookie, who lived more than most of us ever will.

------
ad_hominem
It doesn't detract from his greatness but I didn't like his hypocrisy in
giving millions to gun control initiatives while personally owning a Panzer
tank, SCUD missile launcher, MiG fighter jet, etc.

~~~
culturestate
You can support gun control without supporting total suppression; even Japan,
with some of the world’s strictest gun control laws, still lets you buy one if
you qualify.

~~~
smsm42
And to qualify, you usually have to be extremely rich and well-connected, thus
enforcing the idea that there are two sets of laws - one for hoi polloi and
one for the exalted elite. I think it's better when there's just one, and your
rights do not depend on who you know.

~~~
jpatokal
That's just straight-up wrong. Legal ownership of a gun in Japan requires an
extreme amount of bureaucracy, but it's entirely possible and most legal gun
owners in Japan are (non-rich, non-well-connected) farmers.

[https://www.businessinsider.com.au/gun-control-how-japan-
has...](https://www.businessinsider.com.au/gun-control-how-japan-has-almost-
completely-eliminated-gun-deaths-2017-10?r=US&IR=T)

~~~
Wingman4l7
OP may very well be referring to California. There are some districts where
concealed carry permits are "may issue" \-- issued at the discretion of an
authority like a sheriff -- as opposed to "shall issue" \-- mandatory issuing
if you meet the legal obligations / restrictions. In practice, this results in
celebrities and the well-connected getting permits, and "nobody" citizens with
clean records and legitimate personal safety concerns being denied permits.

