Reddit has a way of making superstars out of free-thinking educators. The social news site’s love affair with astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson and Carl Sagan is the probably the most obvious example of this. Last week, however, Salman Khan briefly shared some of the Reddit limelight.
Khan’s eponymous academy produces free online educational videos. On Wednesday redditors asked him to do an AMA (“ask me anything”). He quickly obliged. His AMA shot straight to the site’s homepage and quickly became the most popular of the week.
Congressional hopeful Rob Zerban also made some headway on Reddit, clocking in at the number two spot. Zerban is an opponent of Wisconsin representative Paul Ryan, who redditors recently targeted in an anti-SOPA campaign. The Reddit AMA turned out pretty good for Zerban: A relative unknown, he found himself the subject of stories at ABC News, Talking Points Memo, and The Atlantic Wire. Oh, and he also raised about $15,000.
There were other AMA goodies all week. The guy who stepped in to handle one of the worst gaming PR episodes of the year, for instance, or a Philippine woman who escaped the Japanese in World War II (her grandson typed out the questions for her on Reddit).
Below, we’ve compiled the top seven posts (seven being our lucky number) from Reddit’s r/IAmA this week, as voted by redditors themselves. We’ve also included a sample question and answer from each. For the complete list, check here.
A note on terminology: AMA stands for “ask me anything,” while “IAmA” is simply “I am a;” AMAA means “ask me almost anything.”
1. I am Salman Khan founder of Khan Academy-AMA
Q: What or who inspired you most to take so much time to do something so significant? (applenerd)
A: For me, it started very incrementally. I always hoped that it would be “significant” to many people, but what convinced me to keep going was the positive feedback from cousins and the early people who bumped into the videos on YouTube. Figured it was worth doing even if it just helped out a handful of people. Everything else is gravy :)
2. I am Rob Zerban, challenger to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) in 2012. AMA
Q: What problems do you see going on in congress right now? What will you do about them? How do you plan to represent the american people? And are you going to be a leader this country needs or just another spokesperson? (croydude22)
A: We have a three major problems in Congress:
Way too much money! We need to get rid of Citizens United and elect people based on ideas, not bank accounts.
Redistricting. The ways the lines are drawn do not make sense. Instead of uniting communities and creating representation, they are designed to entrench incumbents. This does not produce good results.
Term limits. I believe politics should not be a career, but a period of service. I think having term limits would change the way people approach their time in Congress.
3. AMA the guy who replaced Paul Christoforo and is cleaning up after him.
Q: Can you tell us more about the phone call you had with [Christoforo]? (paranoidkiwie)
A: I’ve spoken to Paul many, many times over the last few days.
One of the main things that I’ve learned about him is that he is most concerned about the well-being of his wife and small child, along with his ability to make a living. I can respect and appreciate those things objectively. What I’ve also learned is that he is partial to protecting those interests without any consideration given to common courtesy or professional engagement.
4. I spent 9 days in North Korea, AMA. Photos inside.
Q: What were the best parts? Worst parts? (internetter)
A: Some of best things were that we actually got fairly close with our guides. We chose to go bowling with them and that was a great ice breaker. At one point we had a fairly frank conversation initiated by one of the guides, I was surprised. Usually they always talked about North Korea in a very positive light. My girlfriend and are very curious people, so the whole experience of being there was a positive thing for us. It was really interesting to see inside such a closed culture.
The worst parts were getting glimpses of the poverty. We did see people picking grains off the ground to eat. There is a famine generation there as well. We saw people clearly in poor health with open wounds on their face. This is a certain age group that was affected by the famine in the 90’s. They are a fair bit shorter than the rest of the population.
5. When I was 14, half my family was executed while I escaped into a cornfield. I am now 81. AMA
[Background: “My grandma was in the Philippines during WWII when her parents and most of her family were executed in their home by Japanese soldiers. She escaped to a nearby cornfield with four other siblings.”]
Q: How did you manage to escape past the soldiers? (whatsinyourhead)
A: In our house, I was tied up with my older sister. I managed to wiggle free, we both ran away. A Japanese soldier tried to bayonet me. I pushed him away and ran towards the cornfield. While running they shot their guns at me. My ears were ringing. The soldiers were drunk at the time, most likely because they knew they had already lost the war.
6. I’m Robert Khoo. The guy that runs the business side of Penny Arcade. (damagicsauage)
Q: What would you say is the biggest perk about your job?
A: I can honestly say it’s being able to build and run a company in a way that I always thought companies SHOULD be run. We have no outside investors. We don’t bend to client pressure. Our only responsibility is to our readers. Being able to make business decisions each and every day with absolute clarity is something I think every business guy would be envious of.
7. IAMA guy who lost 260 pounds without the use of surgery, weight loss drugs or specialised diet. AMA
Q: how? (Thor4269)
A: Monitoring my calories every day. I cut down my intake to 1200 from what it used to be (around 3000/3500) per day, and started exercising. I walked. A lot. Ultimately, when dealing with weight loss, it’s 80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise. I pretty much stuck to that.