This article was taken from the September issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by ...

“My dad was a General Motors engineer for 13 years, and he made me swear that I would never become an engineer. ‘No, you’re gonna die poor, don’t do that.’ Which is not true—he just abhorred his own ...