My initial response to this question was, “Chinese!” I was only half joking. English is the most popular second language in the world and in our increasingly connected world, the people who have an understanding of other languages—particularly Chinese—will be better equipped.
As far as computers go, I studied computer languages in school and even though I wish I had studied different “human” languages, I think understanding computer languages will become even more important in the future, since computers are the universal tools of our time. Practically every aspect of our lives has a computer of some sort embedded into it. Having an understanding of how computers work as well as a curiosity about how to tap into their future potential will be important.
This need is especially true when you consider all of the potential applications that could be created to help us better understand biology and how the world works. We are living in an age where information technology and computing are driving the economy, and I predict computer-driven advances in synthetic biology promise to be even potentially more dramatic for the balance of the century.
Author: Nathan Myhrvold
Nathan Myhrvold is chief executive officer and founder of Intellectual Ventures, a private firm focused on the funding, creation and commercialization of inventions. Before Intellectual Ventures, Myhrvold spent 14 years at Microsoft Corporation where he retired in May 2000 from his position as chief technology officer.
Prior to his role as CTO of Microsoft, Dr. Myhrvold held various positions within the company and was responsible for founding Microsoft Research and numerous technology groups that resulted in many of Microsoft's core, leading products. Before joining Microsoft in 1986, Myhrvold was founder and president of Dynamical Systems. Prior to that he was a postdoctoral fellow in the department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics at Cambridge University and worked with Professor Stephen Hawking on research in cosmology, quantum field theory in curved space time and quantum theories of gravitation.
Dr. Myhrvold holds a doctorate in theoretical and mathematical physics and a master's degree in mathematical economics from Princeton University. He also has a master's degree in geophysics and space physics and a bachelor's degree in mathematics, both from the University of California Los Angeles. He is an avid inventor with more than 20 issued patents and nearly 200 patents pending. He has published scientific papers in journals including Science, Nature, Paleobiology and the Physical Review. His paper "Cyberpaleontology—Supersonic Sauropods," co-authored with Dr. Philip Currie, was added to the Smithsonian Institution's 1998 Innovation collection and was one of the 1998 finalists for the Computerworld Smithsonian Innovation Awards.
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