I spent my childhood in Moscow (as Вилли Брайнин) studying at the Gnessin Music School and my adolescence in Queens after my mother and I had immigrated to the United States and my father to Germany. I then received a B.S. degree from SUNY Stony Brook where I studied applied math and computer science.  After working in the software industry for a few years in Manhattan, I returned to Stony Brook to work with Patrick Grim, a philosopher who likes computers, working with whom inspired me to go on to graduate school to pursue my interest in philosophy.  I am currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona studying political philosophy and cognitive science with Thomas Christiano as my current advisor.