Bill Gates reveals in his memoir 'Source Code' that at 13, he would sneak out to write computer code until 2 a.m. He attributes this early coding experience, made possible by a local company offering unlimited computer time, as crucial to his success. Gates highlights how this 'lucky break' of 500 hours paved the way for the 9,500 hours of coding that followed.
At age 13, Bill Gates snuck out to write code until 2 a.m.—that ‘lucky break' helped him create Microsoft says his three kids never would've gotten away with the hijinks he pulled as a 13-year-old — like sneaking out of the house to write computer code until after 2 a.m.
As Gates became more proficient at coding, he began thinking about possible real-world applications of his new skills — like writing software for personal computers, the ideaAs DOGE continues federal budget cuts, Elon Musk turns focus to people over 100 receiving Social Security benefitsafforded him, allowing him to spend hours reading and thinking in his room and letting him go on weeklong hikes in the mountains around Seattle without adult supervision.
A local company, Computer Center Corp., had tasked Gates and his friends in the computer club at Seattle's Lakeside School, including his future Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, with identifying bugs in its programming code. The company gave them unlimited time for writing and testing their own code — including after-hours access — in exchange, writes Gates.
His parents did eventually find out, he notes:"They were like, 'Hey, come on, you've got to get sleep. You're not supposed to do that stuff.'"
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