[![](/stoll-1.jpg)](https://youtu.be/-k3mVnRlQLU)

[![](/stoll-2.jpg)](https://youtu.be/-k3mVnRlQLU)

[![](/stoll-3.jpg)](https://youtu.be/-k3mVnRlQLU)

[![](/stoll-4.jpg)](https://youtu.be/-k3mVnRlQLU)

[![](/stoll-5.jpg)](https://youtu.be/KNq0eUBxPXc)

[![](/stoll-6.jpg)](https://youtu.be/KNq0eUBxPXc)

## Nontrepeneur: Clifford Stoll

[^note]: This essay is part of a series [on nontrepeneurship](/nontrepeneur).

Cliff Stoll is an astronomer, educator, and
[klein bottle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle) salesman.

You know you're a nontrepeneur when you have to clarify that your business is
not a joke:

> Yes, there are many math jokes on this website, but despite that, I really do
> sell Klein bottles
>
> -- [Cliff Stoll](https://www.kleinbottle.com)

> [any profits go directly into Zoe & Danny's College and/or Bail fund]
>
> -- [kleinbottle.com](https://www.kleinbottle.com)

### Lesson: How vs. Why

> It's _not_ knowing the answer that's fun for me.
>
> -- [Cliff Stoll](https://youtu.be/xHEIOgONq6A?t=272)

By hunting down the source of a $0.25 accounting error, Cliff Stoll unraveled an
international conspiracy. He tells the entire story
[here](https://youtu.be/1h7rLHNXio8) -- it's one of my favorite videos on the
internet.

Business and engineering departments ask "how": _how_ to build a product, _how_
to find customers, _how_ to raise profits, etc.

But the pursuit of curiosity -- asking "why" -- is often unprofitable and
impractical. As a result, knowledge itself becomes your
[bottom line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_income), and play becomes your
sharpest tool.

### Lesson: Preparation vs. Improvisation

> Seeking a topological solution to the global financial crisis? Help the world
> economy by purchasing an Acme Klein bottle!
>
> -- [kleinbottle.com](https://www.kleinbottle.com)

> What do you when you're broke, when you're stupid, and when you're
> discouraged? It seems to me that's the situation that we always find ourselves
> in.
>
> Think of your own experience: you never find yourself with too much money,
> being too smart, with a huge mandate -- that never happens. There's no client
> anywhere that's going to fund you that way.
>
> In other words, you're doing the right thing.
>
> -- [Cliff Stoll](https://youtu.be/1h7rLHNXio8?t=1244)

He accidentally pioneered the field of cybersecurity
[by building a device to snoop on proto-internet traffic and log activity via stolen printers.](https://youtu.be/1h7rLHNXio8).

He turned [his home's crawlspace into a warehouse](https://youtu.be/-k3mVnRlQLU)
and built a forklift robot
[from a car door's window motor](https://youtu.be/-k3mVnRlQLU).

Lofty goals demand funding, R&D, market research, hiring, business strategy,
etc.

But Cliff Stoll plays at the human-scale. He doesn't blame the universe for
defying expectations. He doesn't bemoan a lack of knowledge or resources.

For people with purpose, everything is already enough.