Smartest guy at Princeton

His name? Yasantha Rajakarunanayake. Here's who remembered him. Also, 7 other things worth your time.

Do you ever wonder if you’ll have a lasting effect on the world?

The truth is, your greatest effects might turn out to be things you never know about. 

The kind gesture to someone when he or she needs it most.

The example you give to someone that leads them to pursue what turns out to be their calling.

Jeff Bezos revealed the story behind one such person in his life—someone who had no idea that he’d done anything, or that Bezos even remembered him.

It was back in college, and it involves a classmate Bezos described as “a humble, wonderful guy … the smartest guy at Princeton.”

The story goes like this: When Bezos was young, he had his heart set on becoming a theoretical physicist.

He enrolled at Princeton as a member of the class of 1986, one of about 20 students in the elite electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) program. 

“There were brilliant people everywhere,” a classmate said, describing the program a few years ago. “We EECS geeks ... were a quiet, overwhelmingly male grou…