In reading The Element, I have noticed that Robinson often writes about the failures of the education system and a lot about how people who were not traditionally educated are now incredibly successful. He attributes these successes to people finding their true "element." While I believe that these people did find their true element, the intersection of their passion and talent, I feel that their cases are very rare. I believe that deterring youth from education because it may not be conducive to finding their "element" is a risky notion. Even people who find that intersection may work very hard at it and not find success as the people that Robinson tells of in this book did. Los Angeles is filled with talented people who would love to be the next Paul McCartney. But truth be told that kind of success is very rare. I am all for people finding their element but not necessarily at the cost of their education. It may be my bias as a teacher but I believe that pursuing an education will open more doors for someone than it will close. I understand pursuing something that one is passionate about, but some of what Robinson writes about is a little drastic to me.