Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in extreme poverty in India. At the age of 10 he showed a propensity for mathematics, by 13 he had mastered advanced
trigonometry, by 17 he was conducting his own research. He discovered over 3,900 results, some of which are used in string theory today.
Alex Tabarrok asks, in a recent Ted talk, “How many Ramanujan’s are there in India today, toiling in the fields, barely able to feed themselves, when they could be feeding the world?”
He goes on to explain that globalization is not something we should fear, but embrace, as one good idea will lift all of us, and lifting the world out of poverty will great millions upon millions of new college graduates, scientists, scholars, and thinkers. And that will change the world for all of us.
Enjoy this clip (starts at the pertinent point, though the whole video is highly recommended):