Thiel's scholarships are interesting and I'm sure we'll see some results. But the justification given in this article and the broader conclusions are almost entirely wrong. Setting educational policy based on da Vinci (who was probably a lot more educated than you know) is like saying everyone who likes to play basketball can become a superstar in the NBA by NOT practicing. There are a very small number of supremely talented people and some of them don't need an education to succeed. There are a few more people who will not make the best use of their abilities by following a traditional educational path and shouldn't feel compelled to go to college. But saying everyone should be like the few is just as wrong as saying the few should be like everyone.