Bill Gates once again moved from wholly serious to wonderfully whimsical in his annual Reddit Ask Me Anything discussion Monday with the public.

The 61-year-old Microsoft Corp. co-founder covered a wide range of topical subjects, from education, artificial intelligence and global disease to political schisms and how the Internet divides us. On a lighter note, Gates waxed on topics such as being a young geek, finding online solutions for isolated folks and the reason he wears hats in public (he can pretty much remain incognito that way).

On technology, Gates was asked a handful of questions, one asking him to explain what technological advancements he was most looking forward to. Gates’ response was vaccines for diseases such as HIV and malaria, but also computers that can read and understand information like humans do.”

Gates was also asked what a hypothetical business he and Elon Musk might create and whether he ever “copied” Steve Jobs. Regarding the unlikely event of his working with Musk, Gates said he would like to create “batteries or super-safe nuclear or making the sun into gasoline directly” in the absence of constant wind or sunshine. As for copying Jobs, Gates answered, “The main ‘copying’ that went on relative to Steve and me is that we both benefited from the work that Xerox PARC did in creating graphical interface – it wasn’t just them but they did the best work.”

Sticking with serious matters, Gates also said the Universal Basic Income is coming, just not yet. “Over time countries will be rich enough to do this,” he said.” However, we still have a lot of work that should be done.”

Gates was uncertain when asked how to bridge widening social, cultural, economic, educational and regional divides. This “partitioning,” said Gates, has been intensified with the proliferation of digital communication. “We don’t want to get to where American politics partitions people into isolated groups,” he said, but then handed the baton back and asked if anyone had ideas on how to prevent this.

Regarding the sense of isolation in an era when we’re married to our devices, Gates suggested apps that might bring us together rather than keep us apart. “Not Tinder,” he said, but something for “adults who want to mentor kids or hang out with each other.”

Explore the world before it’s too late, Gates counseled. He said he was socially awkward as a young man, and perhaps made the mistake of thinking intelligence was one-dimensional. Gates prescribed travel in the developing world before reaching age of 40 to open up new dimensions of intelligence.

Photo: Reddit