To clarify, my view is that there are billions of people who never engage with the scientific establishment because they lack the means to do so. Among these a

To clarify, my view is that there are billions of people who never engage with the scientific establishment because they lack the means to do so. Among these are many people who might have made tremendous discoveries if they had grown up in a more privileged environment. I might point at the fact that tenure-track professors are 25 times more likely to have a parent with a PhD than the general population (https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/6wjxc https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/6wjxc). Also, here's a good, factual article illustrating my general point: https://www.nature.com/articles/537466a https://www.nature.com/articles/537466a Reading between the lines, I think your view is that the valuable contributors (the extreme outliers) will find a way to contribute regardless of background. I think that's true, to some extent, but less common than we give it credit for. I also think that ignores the majority of scientists who are not outliers but make important discoveries just as a matter of course. Discoveries that may inform future breakthroughs. Anyway, the truth is certainly somewhere in the middle. By growing the population of people who might make contributions (one way or another), we will increase the rate of contributions. I just think it's best from a moral, social, and ecological perspective to make the most of the minds we already have.