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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has revealed that he experimented with LSD in his youth. His reason? To impress girls. This candid admission forms part of his forthcoming memoir Source Code, which offers an introspective look into his childhood and formative years. Scheduled for release on February 4, the memoir explores a variety of topics, including drug use, autism, and the challenges Mr Gates faced growing up.
In the book, he recounts his experience with LSD, admitting he tried the drug "a few times," but ultimately found the experience unsettling enough to avoid it in the future, according to a report by People magazine.
He humorously recalled one incident where, after consuming LSD, he asked a girl out on a date by claiming he had dialled the phone with his toes.
Source Code is the first instalment of a planned trilogy, focusing primarily on Mr Gates' early years in Seattle. It avoids mentioning many of his more widely known achievements, such as his industry-defining success at Microsoft, his marriage to Melinda Gates, or his philanthropic endeavours. These topics will be covered in later volumes of the trilogy.
Apart from revealing his experiences with drugs, Mr Gates shared stories from his youth, including the traumatic loss of a friend in a hiking accident and his struggles with academic pressure. He admitted that he was often a "challenging" child, which led his parents to seek therapy for him when they didn't know how to handle his behaviour.
Another significant admission in the memoir involves Mr Gates' reflection on autism and ADHD. He notes that the idea of being on the autism spectrum was not something he considered during his youth but arose later in life. "A few cases where people asked me about it, I had to reflect and say yes," he told People magazine.
"Those words didn't come up," Mr Gates reflects on his youth in the memoir. "I do think when I got to college, the term 'ADHD' came up and people started to be prescribed medicine for that. I never was, but I probably would've been diagnosed with that as well."
The journey to writing Source Code wasn't without its challenges. Mr Gates initially began work on a comprehensive autobiography but struggled to bring the project together. He explained, "Some parts were way too detailed, others weren't detailed enough," and ultimately decided to split his life story into multiple books.