brainwagon

MIT Technology Expert in Coma in Vietnam – New York Times

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor emeritus Seymour Papert, 78, was among more than 100 international experts from 30 countries who had gathered in Hanoi this week for conference on teaching mathematics with digital technology. He was struck by a motorbike while crossing a busy street near his hotel Tuesday, said Hoang Xuan Lan, an administrator at Hanoi Technology University, which is hosting the conference.

Vo Van Ban, deputy director of the French Hospital in Hanoi, said that Papert underwent brain surgery on Wednesday morning and remains in a coma.

Papert is a fascinating man with a career that spans a half a century. His book Perceptrons is probably solely responsible (through no fault of his own) for delaying research in neural networks for decades. He was fascinated by children and using computers in education, and participated most recently in the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project.

Best wishes, and hopes for a quick and full recovery.