Bitcoin is probably an example of this. I really doubt its creator knew about the state of the art in the field, yet he still created the state of the art in th

Bitcoin is probably an example of this. I really doubt its creator knew about the state of the art in the field, yet he still created the state of the art in the field. But yes, you are unlikely to do state of the art math without extensive education. However most other fields aren't like that, software engineering included.