From time to time we discover clear evidence that education and examinations are not the only indicators of scientific and mental excellence.
The 22-year-old British young who has been able to stop the biggest cyber attack known to date to humanity (the WannaCry ransomware that hit computers in about 150 countries) is just one of those failing in high school exams, specifically in IT subjects.
Hutchins succeeded in stopping the virus attack. Newspapers reported aspects of his life, noting that he was punished for suspension after being accused of hacking the electronic system of his school. Not only did the school deprive him of studying for a week, but they also prevented him from using computers connected to the Internet, which pushed him to study the IT curriculum of secondary school on paper only. Hutchins said he failed to pass the information systems test because of that.
This past failure, from the point of view of his country’s official educational system, has worked closely with the British government’s National Cyber Security Centre to prevent the emergence of any new versions of the malignant virus used in the attack.
The formal educational systems are not the only way to measuring the abilities of young people in modern times. There are skills that are difficult to measure through existing teaching and testing methods, whatever their level of development and progress.
The story of this young British is a frequent kind of stories, like the story of Bill Gates, who left Harvard before he completed his studies, and then founded the Microsoft Company, and he became the richest man in the world. One of the published statistics indicate that many rich people did not go to college or have left it before obtaining a university degree, and a large proportion of university students in the United States leave school before completion but they achieve great success in the areas of work.
Asharq Al-Awsat published on October 12, 2007 the story of Bill Gates leaving the university, where Jeanette Le, the author of Bill Gates Talking, quoted him saying that he left university, he was at Harvard Carrier when he picked up the phone to call a company in New Mexico, and in January 1975 he sent suggestions to add the BASIC system to its DOS research. The company was working to produce the first computer. When he sent them the proposal, by registered mail, he did not write his address, nor did he tell them he was a student, so as not to underestimate the importance of his proposal. When the man answered the phone on the other side, in New Mexico, he tried to speak like a university professor. He was afraid that the man would recognize him and hang up the phone, but he did not. He asked him to wait for a minute, looked at his papers, and said that Gates’ suggestion was there and they wanted details. Gates said he then forgot everything about the university and spent days and nights writing details. When they accepted his propositions, he was convinced his place was not in college.
The university newspaper later called him the biggest failure of Harvard, but he went back to receive an Honorary Doctorate. Bill Gates told the university if he did not leave the university, he would have known things that he only knew a few years ago. He did not know much about inequality and injustice or that civilization is not only about discoveries and evolution, but also about humanity and bringing justice, freedom, education, health, and employment for those in need.
Steve Ballmer also was determined to leave college, then he became a manager of Microsoft and was among the richest people in the world.
This list also includes Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the phone, who was cut off from his studies, after failing in many courses.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg also left school at some point. Lawrence Allison, founder of Oracle, and Apple’s Steve Jobs left the university before graduating.
This is not an invitation to leave education or to diminish its great importance in the race for excellence, but to emphasize the importance of skills, talents and personal abilities to succeed. The idea in most of these wonderful stories is that innovation is a vital value to be instilled in young people, along with the qualities of passion, patience, ambition and determination.
Countries and societies should treasure the talents, skills and personal ambition of young people. We have to develop further mechanisms that are capable of selecting talents, identifying, nurturing and encouraging skills in various fields.
