I can't endorse the movie "Whiplash" because it is so crass, but it takes an interesting look at what it takes to be truly great. I don't think we "miss" people like Lin and Zhang because they make themselves. Intelligence and skill really make a small part of the overall requirement for success. Hard work, perseverance, preparation, and choosing the right problems to work on are really more important.

But the problem stands no matter which qualities you think are important. Lin, for instance, was just plain lucky. He was due to be dropped but a spate of injuries gave him an opportunity to shine he hadn't had before. Equally, you can talk about any number of desirable qualities Zuckerberg and Brin had but you can't ignore the fact that they went to accelerators for gifted children rather than a public school in the rough end of town.

Certainly we could make it more likely for such people to reach their fullest potential, though?