I especially enjoyed Mary Midgley's quote: "I wrote no books until I was a good 50, and I'm jolly glad because I didn't know what I thought before then
I wonder how many of these folks were "big thinkers" just without the proper stimulus? Or in other words, did most of them come up with various other ideas throughout their life -- perhaps in various fields -- and it finally just worked out where all the pieces were in place at the right time? Or did these people undergo a personality change in their middle years? I suspect the former. Midgley's and Kroc's stories especially sound like people who were "accumulating" and working out ideas for many, many years before it finally gelled, but it's just a guess.
When the 22-year-old hits it big with some idea we all say something like "Look at that awesome kid! He was born for greatness" but when a 44-year-old does the same thing, we can no longer use the "he's so special it's no wonder he succeeded" rationale. Something else is at work.
Perhaps it just takes a long time to work through the mistakes and mis-steps. Or perhaps just something as mundane as having the kids grow up thus giving you more free time.
Mostly you just look back in slack-jawed amazement at all the silly thoughts, philosophies, and epiphanies you've had throughout your younger years, and wonder what your future self will think of your present self.
The big miss in this article was leaving out Immanuel Kant[1]. Although he wasn't unknown in early life, the works that secured his place in history didn't happen until well into his 50's and beyond.
I wonder how many of these folks were "big thinkers" just without the proper stimulus? Or in other words, did most of them come up with various other ideas throughout their life -- perhaps in various fields -- and it finally just worked out where all the pieces were in place at the right time? Or did these people undergo a personality change in their middle years? I suspect the former. Midgley's and Kroc's stories especially sound like people who were "accumulating" and working out ideas for many, many years before it finally gelled, but it's just a guess.
When the 22-year-old hits it big with some idea we all say something like "Look at that awesome kid! He was born for greatness" but when a 44-year-old does the same thing, we can no longer use the "he's so special it's no wonder he succeeded" rationale. Something else is at work.