It’s safe to say that Bill Gates and I do not share common ground in the way our minds work, and to be fair, I’m certainly not alone in saying that. His mind is quite fittingly often referred to as a machine that gathers, retains and processes information, just like the computers he has built with Microsoft. From playing cards, to reading countless books, to managing a presidential-style schedule, the man works and lives meticulously as he juggles his responsibilities and his pleasures. Bill Gates is by no means a perfect human being, but he seems to be honest about his life and that’s something that I can appreciate. Whether you’re a fan of his or not, you cannot deny his influence and that he is truly one of a kind. 

I think they’ve put this series together quite well, with each episode navigating between the past and the present. The mini-series features Bill’s upbringing, his influences, and the backstory of his unprecedented empire, whilst also focussing on his current ambitions to fulfil the aims of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For the best part of two decades, the foundation has worked towards addressing world health issues, such as developing vaccinations against polio in the developed world, and funding new technologies that can help produce green energy solutions for the future. This came as a pleasant surprise because I was just expecting the documentary to exclusively be about Bill’s life and Microsoft, but they really took the opportunity to focus on some troubling world issues that don’t get enough thought. 

Polio has been eradicated in the developed world for some time now, as has the likelihood of a child dying from diarrhoea, but many people in poorer countries are still suffering from these very curable health issues. There is a lot of money in the world that can solves issues like this, and you can lose faith in humanity when very few wealthy people are willing to take on this responsibility. We do need to be thankful that Bill and Melinda Gates have stepped up and taken on this responsibility, and of course you would hope and expect them to be doing things like this, but there are many other billionaires that are not doing nearly as much for the world as they need to be.  

Obviously Bill Gates has a very unique mind that has allowed him to become a powerful force across business and technology, and if his energy can become focussed towards global health and the environment it can only be a good thing. Bill and his wife Melinda are a dynamic duo that are doing great things, the ultimate power couple, and a nice embodiment of different minds working together, utilising their own personalities and attributes for a common cause. Watch ‘Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates’ on Netflix to be fasciated by a genius mind, and to be made aware of some global challenges that you may not think about.