Everyone in computational neuroscience knows about the McCulloch-Pitts neuron model, which forms the foundation for neural network theory. However, I never knew anything about Warren McCulloch or Walter Pitts until I read this very interesting article in Nautilus. I had no idea that Pitts was a completely self-taught genius that impressed the likes of Bertrand Russell, Norbert Wiener and John von Neumann but was also a self-destructive alcoholic. One thing the article nicely conveys was the camaraderie and joie de vivre that intellectuals experienced in the past. Somehow this spirit seems missing now.