Prominent economist Bryan Caplan and political commentator Richard Hanania have started a "Sixteen Fun Facts About Me" meme on their respective blogs/substacks. Here is my list (in rough chronological order):
1. I was born in the then-Soviet Union. As an infant and toddler, I spent a lot of time in the hospital, due to various ailments. One time, a nurse asked my mother if I was her only child. She said yes. "That's unfortunate," the nurse commented, with typically awful Soviet bedside manner, "because this one probably won't live." Fortunately, the nurse turned out to be wrong, and I survived.
2. I didn't learn how to read in either English or Russian until the age of eight - a consequence of lack of motivation and possible undiagnosed dyslexia. But when I finally did learn, I almost immediately started reading adult books, rather than those meant for kids. My daughter Lydia - probably the family member most like me - didn't learn to read until the age of nine. A consequence of dyslexia which did get diagnosed. We spent many hours memorizing sight words with her to overcome it. When Lydia did finally learn, the first book she read on her own was the classic science fiction novel Ender's Game, which is intended for adults.
