Dave Plummer: Programming, Autism, and Old-School Microsoft Stories | Lex Fridman Podcast #479

Dave Plummer, an old-school Microsoft software engineer, recounts his journey from programming on a TRS-80 to developing iconic Windows features like Task Manager and ZIP file support. He details the challenges of early programming, such as memory constraints and debugging in assembly, and reflects on Microsoft's dominance, attributing it to relentless pursuit of a vision and assembling a team of brilliant minds. Plummer also discusses his experiences with autism, explaining monotropism, sensory sensitivities, and the challenges of social interaction, including an awkward encounter with Bill Gates. He shares strategies for flourishing with an autistic mind, such as focusing on concrete skills and explicit communication, and touches on his current projects, including building an AI to play the game Tempest and contributing to the GitHub Primes project.