We owe young Patrick McConlogue an apology. Yesterday, the boyish wantrepreneur startled us with his plan to help the poor: just teach them how to code. It seemed a little naive—even demeaning—to think teaching a homeless person Javascript would rescue them from the streets. Maybe we were wrong.

As McConlogue recounts in a new Medium post about Silicon Alley's Pygmalion, his homeless vanity friend "Leo" (above) shocked him with his ability to speak:

As I sat there becoming increasing stunned, he rattled off import/export prices on food, the importance of solar and green energy, and his approval for “efficient public transportation initiatives [referring to NY’s new Citibike]”. He is smart, logical, and articulate. Most importantly, he is serious. It’s up to him if dedication is also his gift.

If he could talk about things, perhaps he could create the next Pinterest? And if every homeless man, woman, and child can be given the means to create the next Pinterest, there won't be any problem left to solve, now will there? Perhaps the last homeless person left in the United States can create a sort of "Pandora for Homeless Pinterests" to aggregate them all.

As for Pat and Leo's urban lab experiment, McConlogue says they're in motion:

The next step… First, per our agreement, for the next two months I will come to work and hour earlier and meet with him for a coding session. I am overnighting this gear: Samsung Chromebook with 3G (access to code academy etc). Beginner: “JavaScript for Beginners” Intermediate: “Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja” Advanced: “Javascript the Good Parts” Solar charger for the laptop. Something to hide the laptop in.

Now McConlogue will just have to address how a homeless man will safely use a laptop on the street without being a victim of rampant unreported violence against the homeless, theft, where Leo will do this "coding," lack of access to mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, unemployment, the unlivable minimum wage, the affordable housing dearth, and other minor bumps in the Code Your Way to The Bourgeoisie roadmap.