Cupp

The experimentation and fascination with dangerous materials of LaDue seems common in young males, particularly those who are strong in engineering. For example, programming legend John Carmack was similarly caught with thermite at a young age.

Is there a path to identify and intervene for those who are at risk? We could lose some of the greatest minds if there became a culture of fear and distrust of the curious, high-threshold personalities like described in this article.

I absolutely agree. Fortunately, sandbox games like Minecraft are very popular among kids today. Minecraft gives a friendly environment where players can engineer contraptions and blow things up. It's giving a new generation of tinkerers tools that they could never have in real life. (Some kid even built a fully working scientific calculator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgJfVRhotlQ)

Hopefully this genre grows, and brings more positive attention to video games as an outlet rather than a scapegoat for violence.