WHO: Aaron Swartz, an 18-year-old computer whiz who in 2000 helped develop the popular Web-content distribution software RSS.
MORE GEEK CRED: In addition to editing the specs for RSS, Swartz built the Web site for warchalking, the short-lived graffiti approach to locating Wi-Fi hot spots. He's also an adviser on metadata issues for Creative Commons, Stanford law professor (and Wired columnist) Lawrence Lessig's copyright think tank.
WHEN HE GROWS UP: Now that Swartz has been palling around with Lessig, he's liking law. "Four years ago I probably would have said I'd be some kind of startup guy," says Swartz, now entering his freshman year, "but the law seems really interesting to me. It's a system of rules, like computers are and you can hack it by finding the implications of those rules. Go to a judge, show your hack, and the judge has the power to change the world based on your conclusions."
GO CARDINAL: A native of Highland Park, Illinois, Swartz has long had his eye on the San Francisco Bay Area. He applied to only Stanford and UC Berkeley. Cal turned him down. Maybe the recommendation letter from Lessig greased the wheels in Palo Alto.
- Cyrus Farivar
credit:Anna Knott
Really early adopter: Swartz worked on RSS 1.0 at age 14.
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Undergraduate Overachiever
