Claims

Factual · Other

“I actually thought that when I went to college, my plan was to be a classics major.”

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, interviewee · 24 March 2022 · The Tim Ferriss Show #582: Mark Zuckerberg transcript (The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss)

When Mark Zuckerberg went to college, he planned to major in classics.

Resolved true The record shows it happened or was so.

What would count as true or false

Judged as of 2022-03-24. True: credible biographical sources or earlier statements show that when Zuckerberg entered Harvard he planned to study classics (or had a strong classics plan). Supporting records include his classics study at Phillips Exeter and earlier interviews describing such a plan. Mostly true: he planned classics alongside another field, such as a joint or double concentration with computer science or psychology. Mixed: the evidence is split, with some sources saying classics and others a different planned major. Mostly false: he had only a passing interest in classics and evidence shows he entered planning a different major, such as computer science or psychology. False: dated records show he declared or planned a different concentration from the start and never planned classics.

Evidence

1. Mark E. Zuckerberg ’06: The whiz behind thefacebook.com | The Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson · 10 June 2004

   “The current computer science concentrator originally intended to study classics at Harvard. He would have gone ahead with his plan, too—that is, if he hadn’t stumbled upon an idea that would nearly make him a millionaire.”

2. Zuckerberg and Hennessy discuss their career paths, value of the humanities The Stanford Daily · 15 January 2014

   “He earned a diploma in classics in prep school, has reportedly quoted lines from Virgil’s Roman epic poem “The Aeneid” at a Facebook product conference and was pursuing a psychology major while at Harvard.”

3. Mark Zuckerberg | Biography | Research Starters | EBSCOhost EBSCO Information Services (Research Starters) · 20 July 2013

   “Instead, Zuckerberg chose to attend Harvard University, where he began majoring in computer science and psychology in 2002.”

4. The Journey of Mark Zuckerberg: From Harvard Dropout to Tech Visionary - History Tools History Tools · 26 March 2024

   “Accepted to Harvard University in 2002, Zuckberg originally planned to major in psychology before eventually switching to computer science.”

Reasoning

The Harvard Crimson profile from 2004 [E1], written while he was a student, states that the 'current computer science concentrator originally intended to study classics at Harvard.' That directly matches the claim. The Stanford Daily [E2] supports a strong classics background, saying he earned a diploma in classics in prep school. E2 and E3 describe what he went on to study at Harvard (psychology, or computer science and psychology), not what he planned when he arrived. E4, a 2024 biography site, says he first planned psychology, but it was published much later than the 2004 Crimson report [E1], which was written while he was a student.

Cite this claim

Mark Zuckerberg, “When Mark Zuckerberg went to college, he planned to major in classics.” (said 24 March 2022). Verdict: resolved true. Reliability API, claim c_7d9cb3287914, method 0.1.0+3f84d14d. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_7d9cb3287914