Ask YC: Who are YOUR heroes?

John Carmack.

I could list my heroes, but they're basically the same set of people that I already quote here constantly. Mostly people who have made major contributions to the philosophy and culture of the Internet, plus a few others from the social sciences and education theory.

I just picked up Henry Petroski's book, To Engineer is Human. Anything else you recommend by Petroski?

Roald Amundsen --- The first man to reach the south pole. It's not the accomplishment itself, but the way it was accomplished. If interested, read "The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole."

All of my heroes are fellow New Zealanders:

Ernest Rutherford - Discovered the proton and originated the orbital theory of the atom. Director of a lab that launched the careers of many other famous physicists.

William Pickering - Director of NASA's JPL during the moon years. Held the position for 22 years.

Peter Jackson - Created a movie industry out of nothing in a country thousands of miles away from Hollywood.

Sir Edmund Hillary - Helped build hundreds of schools and hospitals in Nepal. Climbed Everest. Crossed the Antarctic in a hacked together tractor. Jet-boated up the Ganges.

Charles Upham - Won the Victoria's Cross twice during WW II.