I see where you're coming from. Most young people around the world don't really engage with creative learning, the fog of social games obscures the power and possibilities of education I guess. Your best shot is if you have an amazing teacher, but most teachers are products of the same system, and working with limited resources to boot. The brilliant are much more likely to wind up as professors, which I suppose could be why most people who have these later epiphanies tend to have them around college.
That said, this article is really a testament to the incredible potential of online education. A link was forged between a global centre of thought and a young boy in a far-flung, isolated and poor country. That's pretty awesome when you think about it, and hopefully something that will happen more and more as things get better!
Anyway, I hope you don't let stuff like this get you down. It's never too late in life to find your path.
Nah, it doesn't get me down. I have found my path. In fact, the internet has been as amazing for me as it has been for this kid. I learned (and continue to learn) my craft through the internet before anyone thought that creating actual courses for this stuff would be a good idea. In some cases I was lucky to find documentation.
I'm able to live anywhere in the world within reason (the Antarctica is too cold, Manhattan is too expensive and North Korea is too restrictive) and I have lived abroad for five years now. I think travel and living abroad is overrated, but I made the choice and I was able to do it.
I don't feel down about myself. I feel down about kids who aren't "genius" but have just as much potential. However, I'm a huge fan of luck created through a bit of hard work, and this kid hit it. I hope he gets into MIT.
That said, this article is really a testament to the incredible potential of online education. A link was forged between a global centre of thought and a young boy in a far-flung, isolated and poor country. That's pretty awesome when you think about it, and hopefully something that will happen more and more as things get better!
Anyway, I hope you don't let stuff like this get you down. It's never too late in life to find your path.