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An American without a high school diploma or GED convinced a seriously good German university to admit him. That's pretty impressive. If I were in his situatio

An American without a high school diploma or GED convinced a seriously good German university to admit him. That's pretty impressive. If I were in his situation, there's no way I would have had the gull to try that route. Probably would've just stayed in the forest service. Maybe gone for a GED then community college then a local land grant. By which time I'd be too burnt out on it all (and too old) to even think about a doctorate. There's no doubting that the German people helped this guy achieve what he achieved. There's also no doubting that he was truly exceptionally resourceful (and maybe a bit lucky, too).

leephillips 10y ago
This shows that the Göttingen science faculty is maintaining its centuries-long tradition of taking chances and nurturing scientific talent, without regard to sex, race, or class, often in defiance of the surrounding culture. The most famous example is Emmy Noether: http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/the-female-mathematician-who-changed-the-course-of-physics-but-couldnt-get-a-job/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/05/the-female-mathematic...