I think to me it might've been more reassuring if it came from someone other than Tao. I tend to put Tao more in the Galois-like depressing category, given how much he had already accomplished by the time he was 20 (he was promoted to full professor at age 24). There's no amount of hard work that can replicate his trajectory unless you go back and start it at age 8, and even then it's unlikely.
_delirium: I highly recommend you read this short biography of Scottish scientist James Croll, who developed the modern theory of Ice Ages -- with little formal education, he decided to become a scientist while working as a janitor at the age of 38: http://www.guildtownandwolfhill.org.uk/assets/files/pdf/Jame...
Edit: submitted the link as http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4370924 because Croll's story can be very inspirational for the many entrepreneurs on HN who're coping with the challenges of building a business from scratch.
Why is an exception like Croll, who is literally one out of thousands (how many scientists make their breakthrough in their late 30s/40s, while working at menial labor? now, how many cranks do that...) of any interest?
