I would just say the metric of "changing the world" the author is using is simply a bad metric. As you say, almost no one changes the world. The interesting par

I would just say the metric of "changing the world" the author is using is simply a bad metric. As you say, almost no one changes the world. The interesting part, to me, is that Valedictorians end up doing pretty darn well: "Of the 95 percent who went on to graduate college, their average GPA was 3.6, and by 1994, 60 percent had received a graduate degree. There was little debate that high school success predicted college success. Nearly 90 percent are now in professional careers with 40 percent in the highest tier jobs." In short, being a Valedictorian in high-school is a great predictor of future success. The only perspective from which Valedictorians are not successful, given the data set, is from a holier-than-though mindset. Garbling that message by saying not every Valedictorian has moved mountains is... silly.