Jeff Hawkins
The neuroscientist who built the PalmPilot, then left Silicon Valley to unlock the mysteries of the human brain.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American businessperson·Birthday: June 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jeff Hawkins' career splits neatly into two world-changing acts. First, as a tech entrepreneur, he obsessed over a simple idea: putting a computer in your pocket. At Palm Computing, he led the creation of the PalmPilot, a device that defined the personal digital assistant category with its intuitive Graffiti handwriting system and instant-on simplicity. After Palm and its smartphone successor the Treo, he could have rested. Instead, he pivoted completely, founding the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience to pursue a lifelong fascination with how the brain works. He proposed a comprehensive theory of intelligence called the Memory-Prediction Framework, detailed in his book 'On Intelligence.' This led to the founding of Numenta, a company dedicated to machine intelligence based on neocortical principles. Hawkins represents a rare bridge between the pragmatic world of consumer electronics and the fundamental quest to understand human cognition, arguing that true artificial intelligence must be built on the brain's blueprint.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jeff was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jeff Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Jeff's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Invented the PalmPilot, the first wildly successful personal digital assistant (PDA).
- Co-founded Palm Computing, Handspring, and the smartphone pioneer that created the Treo.
- Founded Numenta, a research company focused on machine intelligence based on brain theory.
- Authored the book 'On Intelligence,' outlining the Memory-Prediction Framework of the brain.
Did You Know?
He initially wanted to study neuroscience in graduate school but was rejected, leading him to a career in computing first.
He holds multiple patents for handwriting recognition technology used in the PalmPilot.
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering.
His company Numenta open-sources its core algorithms for hierarchical temporal memory (HTM).
“Intelligence is not defined by what you know, but by how you behave.”
