This is a peculiar essay. I think if you're going to debunk an old saying, you first have to have an appreciation for why existed in the first place. What was running through the mind of the person that originally came up with it.
So, before I reply to the essay, I'd like to share what I think "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is trying to say. I think similar to the old IBM quote, "nothing happens until a sale is made" – maybe something like "it's pretty hard to do something meaningful on your own."
Now, I agree the strongest form of these statement is no longer valid. Before the Internet, someone stranded in the middle of nowhere who knew a lot of math would have no way of knowing about the great areas she could apply her skill. These days that is less true, although I do think that being surrounded by other bright people facing similar problems (as the author is in the case of Harvard and the Theil fellowship) is probably better than just having an Internet connection.
For a more personal example, I be willing to bet that the vast majority of people reading this found their current profession via word-of-mouth. A friend, family member, or teacher showed you programming long before you were making connections via open application. (This is almost surely true in for OPs case).
Even in the case of open applications, who you know is still very important. Something like 80% of all hires come from networking.
So I think the point the author is trying to make is a very limited one: in markets that are dying for talent, talent can sometimes trump connections.
(Though with the big caveat that if you have very few connections you would almost certainly earn far more, and do far more good, if you spent some time making connections)
On second thought, maybe all the author is trying to say is that once you have connections, it feels like connections don't matter.
So, before I reply to the essay, I'd like to share what I think "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is trying to say. I think similar to the old IBM quote, "nothing happens until a sale is made" – maybe something like "it's pretty hard to do something meaningful on your own."
Now, I agree the strongest form of these statement is no longer valid. Before the Internet, someone stranded in the middle of nowhere who knew a lot of math would have no way of knowing about the great areas she could apply her skill. These days that is less true, although I do think that being surrounded by other bright people facing similar problems (as the author is in the case of Harvard and the Theil fellowship) is probably better than just having an Internet connection.
For a more personal example, I be willing to bet that the vast majority of people reading this found their current profession via word-of-mouth. A friend, family member, or teacher showed you programming long before you were making connections via open application. (This is almost surely true in for OPs case).
Even in the case of open applications, who you know is still very important. Something like 80% of all hires come from networking.
So I think the point the author is trying to make is a very limited one: in markets that are dying for talent, talent can sometimes trump connections.
(Though with the big caveat that if you have very few connections you would almost certainly earn far more, and do far more good, if you spent some time making connections)
On second thought, maybe all the author is trying to say is that once you have connections, it feels like connections don't matter.