Likewise, I don't know that I believe this, you just triggered a half-formed thought: The basis of this discussion was that everyone should be provided as much

Likewise, I don't know that I believe this, you just triggered a half-formed thought: The basis of this discussion was that everyone should be provided as much free education as they want with no qualifications. If we acknowledge that Torvalds' contribution is greater than that of a regular working person, aren't we shooting ourselves in the foot? If that's the case, then what argument can we make for subsidizing, say, a History degree? I know several people who have them and none of them are doing anything remotely related to the field. In that case it would seem that the education was unimportant (given the vaguely quantifiable criteria we've established), so why should we have paid for it?