Personal notes from watching Massimo Banzi's story
I recently watched a 40 minutes documentary about Massimo Banzi, the co-founder of Arduino, on RaiPlay. It’s the fourth episode of a series called “Italian Genius”, it’s in italian 🤌, but it has English subtitles too. If you’re into tech, making, or just looking for inspirations, it’s worth checking out.
A few personal notes about the episode:
Kids with early access to edge technology can think big!
One thing that struck me is how often these so-called “geniuses” had early access to cutting-edge technology. Banzi grew up surrounded by electronics—his father worked in the field and kept magazines around, which he eagerly read, even if he couldn’t fully understand them at that age. Like modern machine learning models, he learned through exposure, recognizing patterns and gradually making sense of the information. This exposure fueled his young curiosity and laid the foundation for his future innovations in electronics.
A Good mentor, that’s all you need
The importance of good mentors. Banzi had a professor of electrical engineering in high school who taught him a lot and had a huge positive impact on his life, shaping his curiosity and skills. It’s a reminder that having the right teachers, or just someone who believes in your potential, can change everything.
Side note. Banzi went to a technical institute (like me). I always have the feeling that technical institutes don’t get enough space and recognition in Italy, and they are often downplayed compared to gymnasiums. It’s time to change this narrative!
Problem-First, Innovation-Second
For Banzi, innovation is about solving everyday problems. This simple concept is essential. Simple but at the same time hard to put into practice.
Arduino’s mission is worth a look too https://www.arduino.cc/en/about.
When Computers Made Us Creators, Not Just Consumers
Quoting Banzi:
The home computers of the 80s had this feature, when you turned them on, the Basic code was shown on the screen. So, the idea was, you need to learn how to code. Somehow this characteristic turned you instantly into a creator instead of a consumer. While many contemporary technologies are tech tools for enjoying the content that someone sells to you. But the part where you create , you have to look for it.
I cannot stop thinking about this: this characteristic turned you instantly into a creator.
Wanna be a creator! Happy making 🤖