Dr. Pickover received his Ph.D. from Yale University's Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, having graduated first in his class from Franklin and Marshall College. Today, he holds over 50 U.S. patents for inventions dealing with computing technologies. At the technology company for which he works, he has been awarded the title of "Master Inventor" and has over 88 invention plateaus. Pickover is currently the associate editor for several journals.

The New York Times has proclaimed, "Pickover contemplates realms beyond our known reality." The Los Angeles Times recently wrote, "Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of computers, art and thought." Wired magazine wrote, "Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." Pickover's computer graphics have been featured in many popular magazines and on TV shows. His web site has received millions of visits.

Pickover's primary interest is finding new ways to continually expand creativity by melding art, science, mathematics, and other seemingly disparate areas of human endeavor. Other hobbies include Ch'ang-Shih Tai-Chi Ch'uan, Shaolin Kung Fu, and piano. He owns a 110-gallon aquarium filled with Lima shovelnose catfishes and Florida gar, and advises readers to maintain a shovelnose tank in order to foster a sense of mystery in their lives. Look into the fish's eudaemonic eyes, dream of Elysian Fields, and soar.