The UK Needs More Geniuses
Ben Ramanauskas & Tom Spencer
In 1907, Srinivasa Ramanujan was living in poverty and was at risk of starving to death having twice failed his college examinations. Ramanujan’s story could have ended there. Like so many of his Indian compatriots at the start of the 20th Century, his life would have been short and obscure. Not only would this have been a tragedy for his family, it would have been a devastating loss for humanity. This is because despite his lack of academic qualifications, Ramanujan had one of the finest brains in history.
Lacking a formal training and mainly relying on old textbooks, Ramanujan not only taught himself advanced mathematics; he even developed a number of his own theories. He was recognised as a mathematical prodigy in India but his efforts to be recognised by Western mathematicians were all but ignored. Thankfully for Ramanujan – and the world – his work came to the attention of Cambridge don G.H. Hardy, who invited him to England. Despite the initial resistance from his family (his mother only relented after apparently being convinced by an Indian goddess in a dream), Ramanujan arrived at Cambridge shortly before the start of the First World War.
Thanks to Hardy’s guidance and encouragement, Ramanujan helped to revolutionise mathematics and made a number of breakthroughs which helped to expand humanity’s understanding of the world and the cosmos. Unfortunately, shortly after being elected as a fellow at Trinity College, Ramanujan died due to an untreated illness he had contracted in India. He was only 32.
Ramanujan’s story may be remarkable, but we have not just told it for its remarkability; instead it provides an important example for how our immigration policies act as a barrier to progress. Despite his life being cut tragically short, he still made a huge contribution to humanity by expanding our understanding of the world. If he had lived longer or had been born into a wealthy country then his achievements may have been even greater, but he was still able to realise at least some of his potential.
This is not the case for many people around the world. Exceptional minds such as Ramanujan’s are, by definition, rare. The vast majority of people in history will simply not be as clever as Ramanujan, Einstein, Curie, Feynman, Lovelace, von Neumann, Turing, or Newton. These great names are ones almost all know, however, there are also countless ‘lost geniuses’ throughout history who were born in poverty and obscurity whose potential and talent remained untapped and so they were unable to contribute to human flourishing and understanding. It is obviously difficult to quantify just how many lost geniuses there have been over the millenia, but even if it was just one person with a mind as great as Einstein’s then it is a tragedy for humanity. Given how many people have ever lived, the number is likely to be far greater.
If these people had been born into Western countries such as the UK or if they had been able to move to the country then their genius would have been discovered and nurtured and so would have been able to fulfil their potential. This is not merely conjecture. Research has shown that International Mathematics Olympiad gold medalists were much more productive in a Western country and conducted much more world class research. The reasons for this being that they received more training, were surrounded by other highly productive people, and were much more likely to work in a research role at a leading university, despite having no less potential than gold medalists from wealthier countries. Meanwhile, individuals with exceptional abilities are far less likely to work in research roles or go on to become knowledge producers if they live in a less economically developed country.
Why does this matter? People with exceptional minds and who are able to spend their careers in research roles have the potential to make major breakthroughs in mathematics, science, and technology. These breakthroughs not only increase humanity’s understanding of the world, they also lead to innovation and the creation of new products which increase productivity, drive economic growth, and contribute to human flourishing. In a UK context this could lead to breakthroughs in science and technology and help to end the country’s economic stagnation.
If those with genius level IQs who are currently living in less economically developed nations were allowed to live and work in the UK, then not only would their exceptional talents be nurtured, they would also be able to make a significant contribution to the prosperity of the UK and the world. Given the UK’s strengths in science and technology, it is an ideal place for people with exceptional minds to work on some of the biggest questions in these areas. The government recognised this potential through the creation of ARIA. If these people are not able to work in the UK then their potential will remain unfulfilled. Alternatively, they make a significant contribution to the economy of a competitor nation, including those which do not share the UK’s values. Either way, it would be the UK’s loss.
What should the policy response to this be?
We propose that the government should establish a body to identify people under the age of 30 with exceptional intellectual ability in less economically developed nations.
Obvious examples should include gold medalists in the Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology International Olympiads as well as winners of international Data Science and Chess competitions.
These individuals will be easy to identify and is already happening to a limited extent through the Global Talent Lab’s BIG Program. Moreover, their skills and talents will already have been developed and nurtured. As such, this new government body should work on developing novel ways of identifying truly exceptional people in countries and communities without the means to participate in national or international competitions.
Once these individuals have been identified then they and their families should be encouraged to move to the UK. This would involve paying for their relocation and then partnering with the UK’s top schools and universities to provide them with funding and placements relevant to their age and career stage. This might also involve easier routes to hiring them into highly productive careers, such as in the civil service or for progress focussed organisations like ARIA.
There are likely a huge number of people with exceptional intellects around the world. Many of them are in environments where they are unlikely to fully realise their potential. The UK government should identify these people and nurture their talents so that they can undertake research which increases our understanding, drives innovation, and improves productivity and economic growth for the entire country.
This blog post has been written as a submission to the TxP Progress Prize run by Civic Future and New Statesman Spotlight, responding to the question of how to get Britain moving again.
https://txp.fyi/progress-prize
This blog is the sole opinion of the authors and the authors alone.