The famous English mathematician Godfrey Herold Hardy (G. H. Hardy) once received an unexpected package at his address in Cambridge, England. Inside the package was a letter and some groundbreaking mathematical theorems and proofs. The package was from then 26-year-old Indian Srinivasa Ramanujan.
In his early teens Ramanujan managed to master advanced trigonometry, and started discovering sophisticated theorems. At the age of 16, he was given a copy of G. S. Carr’s A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics. He studied the book in detail, and the following year he independently developed and investigated some famous mathematicians’ theories.
Having dropped out of university in order to earn a living, no institution would hire Ramanujan as Mathematician. Some believed he was a fluke, others feared his lack of formal higher education. While working as a clerk in Madras, Ramanujan was linked with professor G. H. Hardy at the University of Cambridge. With the help of Hardy and others in his circle, Ramanujan made substantial contributions to pure mathematics, including the field of mathematical analysis, number theory, and infinite series. He came up with solutions to mathematical problems previously considered unsolvable.
Talent is evenly distributed, opportunities are not
The common belief is that everything that is great happens in just the developed countries. That people who will shape our future (as a civilization) are the scientists, economists, engineers, scholars and politicians in the developed societies. And the sad thing is we have widely accepted it. Therefore we totally miss the fact that talent is evenly distributed, and just opportunities aren’t. That there are plenty of talented individuals in poor countries that could be crucial in solving some of mankind’s existential problems.
The world needs more problem solvers
We have had major breakthroughs in science and technology, but the truth is there are still countless problems in these fields that still baffle our most brilliant scientists. Cancer is estimated to kill about 7.5 million people annually. The human brain and most of its related diseases still puzzle the brightest researchers and doctors. Currently, entire nations are being displaced due to sea level rise caused by global warming, with no viable solutions in the horizon. Some of the people nature has equipped with the talent to help figure some of these riddles may not be able to attend prestigious universities. They might not have the means to be where geniuses are expected to be found.
When all talented people have a chance to excel, we increase our pool of problem solvers, innovators, and people pushing the world forward. We increase the odds of human civilization’s continued existence.