Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World

by Melissa A. Schilling

When I give presentations about my research on breakthrough innovators, the people in the audience often find it a relief to see just how many innovators did not do well in school precisely because of their creativity or tendency toward rule challenging. A surprisingly large portion of breakthrough innovators were autodidacts and excelled much more outside the classroom than inside. Although many people will have heard anecdotally that some innovators did not do well in school, the stories here show why the innovators such as Edison, Kamen, and Einstein did not flourish in school and why they were successful anyway. Some people respond well to structure, but others do much better in a more fluid educational curriculum where they can choose both the direction and pace of their study. I have watched parents become animated and nod eagerly as I described how the very traits that make some people creative also make them struggle with the classroom environment. At the end of my presentations, mothers and fathers have often come up to me to talk about concerns they have had with their children’s social development or school performance and about how valuable it was to see that a sense of separateness can have a positive side. They make a breakthrough of their own when beginning to understand the benefits of embracing their child’s nature and helping her flourish because of it rather than in spite of it.