Enzio
Chapter 9 +Snapsot
Snapshot
It is ironic that the president, who presents himself as a devout Christian and is admired by many hard-praying pastors, threatened the Iranians with destruction over Easter weekend. He threatened to wipe out military personnel and civilians alike. His language was vulgar, coarse, and adolescent. Is this the behavior of a humanitarian leader who follows the teachings of Jesus? Is this the measured statement of a respected international figure? Of course, the answer is no. The man is unhinged and falling apart more each day.
Enzio
In the fall, Enzio started his studies at MIT. He mostly took the required freshman courses, but he also completed an introductory computer science class with Professor Hans Luden. The lab assistant was Li Chen. Enzio already knew most of the material, but he enjoyed participating in class, and his section leader, Dr. Chen, was exceptionally sharp. Lectures from Dr. Luden were, of course, invaluable, and Enzio recorded all of them in his notebook.
As the semester progressed, other students began to recognize Enzio Molinari’s brilliance. The boy’s thinking was very sharp and clear, and he understood the material quickly. People started turning to him for help and tutoring. Professor Luden noticed the questions Enzio asked during lectures and had to admit that the boy was brilliant.
The professor began planning to attract the young student. He saw him becoming a teaching assistant, and after graduation, finishing a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT. He also pictured the boy as a future computer science professor at a top university, possibly MIT, Carnegie Mellon, or the University of California at Berkeley.
Molinari was a once-in-a-generation talent, and Luden wanted to be part of his journey. The boy was brilliant, and the professor hadn’t seen anyone like him in his entire teaching career. The professor told Julie Evans about Molinari. She suggested that maybe she, Luden, and the young student could have lunch together at one of the restaurants in Harvard Square sometime. Luden liked the idea. Although he usually didn’t have lunch with his students, this was an exception.
Enzio is starting to gain more confidence in himself and his understanding of the world. He had been immersed in computer science for most of his upbringing, and now he was introduced to other aspects of life, such as people from different backgrounds, cultural events around Boston, and world politics. He began reading the newspaper every day and found himself interested in international events.