Audrey Brown, Hitler & The Lost Einstein

It's a rare afternoon when me & my little family turn on the TV. We watched The Repair Shop, a tv show where people ask the craft-master to repair their heirloom. In the episode, it is a pair of shoes from 1936 Great Britain Olympian, Audrey Brown, brought by her grandson Tom Wenham. Made from kangaroo leather, it's definitely a masterpiece worn for written in historical ink. Brown was one of the runners in the 4x100m relay.

The Olympics is a calculated political move from Hitler because it's become his stage to the world on showing off Germany's power. In the competition, Brown must compete with the host team, which holds the highest bet to be the winner. But just like a jinx, the German team dropped the baton and lose the gold medal. Exactly in front of Hitler's eyes.

One thing that brought to my attention is how Audrey Brown's influence on the family. Tom Wenham himself is a lacrosse athlete before and now coaching Great Britain's national team. He said that his grandmother has always been an inspiration in sports for the whole family. While we're aware that genetic play a part in sports massively, but I want to highlight the access that Wenham had. In one or another way, he'll have exposure to how the athlete world is or how the system works around it.

It brings me back to the Lost Einstein research by Raj Chetty & colleagues about how many inventors the US was losing because of the lack of access & poor income. The research tried to understand the factors that determine to invent by tracking the inventor from birth to adulthood. The finding shows that family income is a major factor in supporting the inventor's growth. It also shows that direct exposure (role model, mentoring) to the innovation could affect what subject the innovation made later & a gender-specific pattern.

While Wenham was growing up,  we should also notice, it's a completely different world situation where there's no internet to hack the access. But he has it from his grandmother. I wonder if we could use the same suggestion from Lost Einstein research to intervene the children with talent in their childhood (detected in their primary education) but no access (lower-income, i.e.) by increasing exposure to the athletes, the coaches, gym, and other supports.

What do you think about it?