Summary

In Chapter 12, Pages 67 through 77, Finkel describes Knight’s family and how he was raised. The family was poor, self-sufficient, capable, smart and very introverted. Knight was the fifth boy out of six children. The youngest, a girl, had Down Syndrome, according to Knight. The boys did chores, and worked on projects like building a thermodynamic greenhouse by burying hundreds of one-gallon milk jugs filled with water to create a heat sink. This system allowed them to grow food all winter. The house was filled with books, and the parents read in the evenings. Some neighbors did not know the family existed, while others barely said, “Hi.” Finkel describes the genetic need for social interaction and how some people have differing amounts of biochemicals that make us want to connect. Knight was remembered in high school as smart and quiet.

After high school, Knight...