Rock and Tech writer dies at 66.
‘Some may know him from NeuroTribes, a deeply researched and also fiercely opinionated work. Other may be familiar with him from his writings for Wired and his work on the early days of the Internet and its online gathering place, the WELL. If you’re a Deadhead you recognize his name from liner notes to Dead albums, his co-production credit on the box set So Many Roads, or Skeleton Key, the Dead “dictionary” he co-wrote with David Shenk….’ (Rolling Stone)
According to kottke, his wish for his death was: “Just selfishly or selflessly use my own impermanence to WAKE UP to your own.”
Steve and I long ago discovered our affinity around an amazingly congruent and some would say improbable intersection of interests, ranging from our passion for the Grateful Dead (I envied his erudition and closeness to the seminal Bay Area music scene) to what some might call an equally countercultural take on mind-body and neurocognitive issues. And, oh, I loved the ceaseless social media venom with which he responded to the outrageous buffoonery of trump and his wingnut minions. I was delighted for the success of his book Neurotribes, which brought him well-deserved recognition for his sharp wit and incisive analysis of the issue of autism and neurodiversity. Although we never met in person, we bonded over some of our shared online writing and always intended to meet for dinner when next on the same coast. However, I have felt an immense sense of honor to be his friend. My thoughts are with his husband and other loved ones for this immeasurable loss. A number of the writers I follow on the web have been touched by his passing and took note of it online. Without a doubt, his good buddy David Crosby is beaming from ear to ear and welcoming him with open arms in the Great Beyond about now.
