Is this actually the case? Much of the most useful science & software comes from people educated in the Americas and Western Europe. I think that non-western schooling methodologies under-value problem solving and overvalue "raw" knowledge.
They have the basics, motivation, and opportunities.
Those that stay in poor countries don't have opportunities nor motivation. Those that come from rich countries don't have the basics nor motivation.
It's a generalization, of course.
>It's a generalization, of course
But there is a lot of truth to this.
One other thing that i have noticed, is that in "rich" countries, knowledge of trivial and basic stuff are celebrated in the name of "positive reinforcement". This gives students the false idea that they have "mastered" something while they have just started learning. IMO, this is extremely harmful to the student's psychology.