The place of the ronin in Japanese history and in modern counterparts is quite fascinating to me. I have always thought of myself as fairly creative and capable of free thought. I do not however, think Leary's ronin ideal is for me. He rightly points out the importance of those throughout history who have abandoned rules and order to pursue their belief, their passion or their theory. This is an important part of societal evolution to be sure, but Leary's notion of a society full of ronin 'cyberpunks' is not feasible in my opinion. Society itself is intrinsically an ordered structure and there must be those who take on the role of upholding that order. We can't all be ronin, though we can be a little of both. At different times in their lives people can be mavericks and conformists. An interesting example I think (perhaps a role model?) is Bill Gates. In the early eighties he and Steve Jobs were true ronin, inventing new ways of doing business and giving birth to the information age. Success has had its price though, and now Gates is the head of a worldwide corporation and is decidedly vested in the maintenance of 'order.'