Age: 59.

Appearance: Small, dapper, oracular.

Is he Japanese? Third-generation Japanese-American. Born in Chicago, grew up in New York.

Best known for: Proclaiming The End of History just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, thus failing to anticipate Islamic fundamentalism, 9/11, the Gulf war, the Arab spring, the rise of China etc etc.

He got it wrong, in other words. He claims he was misunderstood.

What's he up to now? New book? No, thank God. I'm still ploughing my way through last year's interminable The Origins of Political Order. He has built a drone.

What's a drone? An unmanned aerial vehicle, usually used for spying or assassination.

Odd hobby. He's obsessed by gadgets. "These days I spend as much time thinking about gear as I do analysing politics. I've always wanted to have my own drone that could send back a live video feed."

Why? This is not quite clear. All he has done so far is post videos of his local park and his office at Stanford University.

He hasn't tried to eliminate any rival professors? Not yet.

Why now? Paranoia. "I want to have my drone before the government makes them illegal. The US has been fighting such low-tech enemies lately that we haven't thought through the nature of a world in which lots of people have sophisticated drones, not just other countries but private individuals."

I'd better get building. What does he recommend? The DJI F450 quadcopter – cheap, stable and easy to fly.

Sounds OK. It's a fancy model helicopter, basically, with four rotor blades and a camera attached. Fine for California parks, not much cop in Helmand province. The website DIY Drones is pretty snooty about it: "No doubt now he's got the bug, he'll be shooting for more real drone things soon."

DIY Drones website? It was new to me too, but it's got 22,000 members and is growing fast.

Do say: "Wow! Have you seen the ArduCopter 2.3? Look at those control loops!"

Don't say: "Forget the end of history; it's the beginning of hysteria."