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    The Tragic Life Of Terry Davis, The Brilliant Computer Programmer Whose Struggle With Schizophrenia Derailed His Career
    Public DomainTerry Davis was a brilliant computer programmer who struggled with schizophrenia.From his early days as a gifted engineer to his final years spent chasing a divine vision through code, Terry Davis was one of the most unusual figures in modern computing history. To his fellow programmers, he was a rare technical master. In his own mind, he was a man chosen by God to build something sacred.For the first 26 years of his life, Davis was on the path to becoming another Steve Jobs. He learned programming language as a teenager, earned a degree in electrical engineering, and secured a job with Ticketmaster. Then, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, derailing his promising career.During the years he spent in and out of psychiatric facilities, Davis thought he heard God commanding him to build an operating system. So, he spent 10 years creating TempleOS, which he believed was destined to become the Third Temple foretold in the Bible. Then, in 2018, Terry Davis story came to a tragic close. He was struck by a train in Oregon, and nobody is sure if it was a terrible accident or if he died by suicide. Regardless, it brought an end to the life of one of recent historys most brilliant yet troubled minds.Terry Davis Early Life And The Onset Of SchizophreniaTerrence Andrew Davis was born in Wisconsin in December 1969, one of eight children in a Catholic family. He moved frequently as a child, but his passion for computers followed him wherever his family settled.Find a GraveTerry Davis as a young man, long before he made waves with his operating system.As a young teenager, Davis learned programming language on a Commodore 64. This talent carried him to Arizona State University, where he earned a masters degree in electrical engineering in 1994. Hed started working for Ticketmaster as an undergraduate, and he remained with the company for an additional two years after his graduation.Then, in March 1996, Terry Davis started experiencing manic episodes and paranoia. I started seeing people following me around in suits and stuff, Davis recalled to VICE writer Jesse Hicks in 2014. It just seemed something was strange.So, he got in his car and started driving, the whole time convinced that the voices on the radio were speaking directly to him. After he reached Texas, he pulled over on the side of the road, ripped the panels off his car to look for a tracking device, threw his keys into the desert, and walked away. Public DomainTerry Davis, the programmer behind TempleOS, pictured with his Commodore monitor.When a police officer picked him up, Davis jumped out of the moving patrol car and broke his collarbone. At the hospital, he thought he heard doctors talking about artifacts left by aliens that were detected in his X-ray images, so he fled once more. He stole a truck, was swiftly apprehended, and then shoved his glasses into an electrical socket in his jail cell in another attempt to escape.Davis was ultimately sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he stayed for two weeks. Although he was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder, doctors later determined that he had schizophrenia. And as Terry Davis illness progressed, so did his conviction that a higher power was speaking to him.Searching For God Through CodeAfter his release, Davis felt deep guilt over what he described as being a technology-advocate atheist. He decided to follow Jesus by giving away everything he owned and living nomadically. But that plan didnt last long. He spent the next seven years in and out of psychiatric facilities. In between, he worked on various projects, from stints at tech companies to inventing a milling machine to writing a sequel to 1984. Then, he started building TempleOS.Driven by a relentless search for Gods message, Davis began creating an operating system that he believed was divinely inspired and destined to be the Third Temple thats prophesied in the Bible. He believed that God had personally instructed him to build the system.Public DomainThe logo of TempleOS, the operating system Davis claimed that he was instructed by God to create.Based on what he described as direct communication with God, Davis began development of TempleOS in 2003. Originally known as J Operating System, then LoseThos, the project spanned more than a decade. Davis created everything himself, including the programming language, which he dubbed HolyC.The operating system deliberately resembled early systems like the Commodore 64 and DOS-based interfaces. It ran at a fixed resolution of 640 by 480 pixels and was limited to just 16 colors. These constraints were intentional and purportedly instructions from God.In total, TempleOS contained more than 120,000 lines of code. Among its most unusual features was a program called AfterEgypt, which included a digital oracle. Using random number generation, the oracle generated Bible passages that Davis believed allowed users to communicate directly with God.When TempleOS was complete, Davis announced on his website, Gods temple is finished. Now, God kills CIA until it spreads.Terry Davis Growing Fame And ControversyAs Terry Davis shared TempleOS online, he began to attract a devoted following. His work gained attention within the programming community, and he eventually built a small but loyal fan base. He livestreamed coding sessions and referred to himself as the smartest programmer thats ever lived.His YouTube channels were repeatedly deleted due to vulgar and offensive language. He still believed that CIA agents were following him, and he referred to them as Glowies, claiming they glowed in the dark. His language became increasingly disturbing. He frequently used racist and homophobic slurs. These moments overshadowed his brilliance and alienated many who once admired him.Yet, interest in his work continued to grow. Davis appreciated the attention, but he felt disappointed that few of his fans actually used TempleOS to talk to God. After all, that was its entire purpose.In his final years, Terry Davis drifted between homelessness, jail, and brief stays with his family. He stopped taking his medication, believing it hampered his creativity. His fans tried to help, but he reportedly declined offers for housing.Terry Davis/YouTubeTerry Davis in his final YouTube video, which was posted just before his death.In 2018, Davis traveled through California and Oregon. In his final video, uploaded just hours before his death on August 11, 2018, he spoke cryptically about purifying himself. Its good to be king, he said. Wait, maybe I think maybe Im just like a little bizarre little person who walks back and forth.That night, Davis was struck and killed by a train while walking along railroad tracks near The Dalles, Oregon. The trains engineer said the incident may have been intentional, though no official cause of death was ever confirmed. It was not ruled a suicide due to a lack of evidence. He was 48 years old.Just before the VICE article about Terry Davis work was published in 2014, he had emailed the author, writing, What people are going to read is, Its about a pathetic schizophrenic who made a crappy operating system. My perspective is, God said I made His temple.'After learning about the life of Terry Davis, read about Grace Hopper, one of the first modern computer programmers. Then, go inside the story of John Nash, the brilliant mathematician with paranoid schizophrenia behind A Beautiful Mind.The post The Tragic Life Of Terry Davis, The Brilliant Computer Programmer Whose Struggle With Schizophrenia Derailed His Career appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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    The next Europa Universalis 5 update tackles its awkward UI, and adds a beloved feature from EU4's DLC
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