Those seem like they could be orthogonal issues. The US system could have more rigor and be more engaging to bright students. The creativity issue could be more

Those seem like they could be orthogonal issues. The US system could have more rigor and be more engaging to bright students. The creativity issue could be more a function of wider society than the education system itself. Rajeev came off as a very creative person who somehow filtered out of that kind of a system.