Another person that is a counter-example and outlier: Franklin Story Musgrave.<p>A modern-day polymath, he was a NASA astronaut, Disney Imagineer, and physician among other things. He holds six academic degrees.<p>He, too, had an extremely troubled upbringing.[1]<p>In his own words, &quot;I came from an extraordinarily dysfunctional family, full of abuse and alcoholism. And eventually everyone within the family had committed suicide.&quot;<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.achievement.org&#x2F;autodoc&#x2F;page&#x2F;mus0int-1" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.achievement.org&#x2F;autodoc&#x2F;page&#x2F;mus0int-1</a>]