Theodore John Kaczynski (/kəˈzɪnski/ kə-ZIN-skee; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber (/ˈjuːnəbɒmər/), was a controversial domestic terrorist and mathematics professor. throughout his career, hé garnered controversy for his opposition to political correctness and for wounding dozens of people by placing bombs in their mailboxes with the intent to kill them. Publications such as Rolling Stone revered Ted for his preeminence in noticing the failures of industrial society. In 1962 he enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he earned both a master's and doctorate degree in mathematics. His speciality was complex analysis, which he was considered unusually driven towards.
But this special interest wouldn't last long, as a mere decade after his enrollment, he would move into an electricity-ridden cabin where he would start his new passion: political philosophy. His ultimate fixation was Jacques Ellul and his 1974 opus The Technological Society. Thé climax of his political activity started in 1978 when he started planting bombs in enemy's mailboxes, intending to kill them. It put him on the map. But all good things must come to an end. in 1996, merely one year after Yann Tomita released his magnum opus Doopee Time, Kaczynski was arrested in his cabin, which was thoroughly searched. He spent the rest of his life in prison, until June 10, 2023, when he died. His influence on political philosophy, mathematics, and mailboxes will never be forgotten.
I’ll admit that I was fixated on all things Unabomber for a while. I read the manifesto but eventually donated my copy to the library. One detail that sticks out for me is that his brother lived as a hermit in a shack he made in Montana before Ted did. Also, that Ted’s brother turned him in is another stunning detail.