Friday, July 31, 2009

From zero to hero

History is replete with examples of super achievers who failed to sparkle in school

Many great people who changed the world were academically average.

Thomas Alva Edison, who transformed the world with his inventions, was regarded as a dull student by his teacher. His teacher had described Edison as “a student who cannot learn.”

Isaac Newton, who altered the course of physics and mathematics with his brilliant formulations such as law of gravitation and Calculus, was regarded as an ordinary student.

Similarly, the great scientist Albert Einstein was never considered a good student in his school days. Celebrated writer author HG Wells and successful businessman Richard Branson were school dropouts.

AR Rahman, Oscar-winning music composer, has not received any formal education. But due to his sheer musical genius, he is today in a league of his own.

The late Dhirubhai Ambani, entrepreneur par excellence and founder of Reliance Industries, had no formal education. But that didn't prevent the industrialist from achieving his goals. The Wright brothers, inventors of the aeroplane, could hardly be called educated by any scholastic standard. But their powers of observation and intelligence were so sharp that they were the first to see that man could fly.

This list will be incomplete without the mention of Sachin Tendulkar, who had failed in his 10+2 examination. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s wealthiest men, was a college dropout. The legendary Indian mathematician Ramanujan was a brilliant mind, but he was weak in all other subjects.