Wind Boy

This week my older sister e-mailed me a link to an article about a Malawian boy who built a windmill to power his village. He constructed this from scratch and has been improving its design since its erection. William Kamkwamba received the basic knowledge of how a windmill functions, but he discovered how to construct the windmill with a bicycle, plastic pipes, and an old shock absorber by himself.
In class we discussed the difference between received knowledge and discovered knowledge. We all agreed that the combination of both is the best way to learn. William clearly had the same notion needed only an old library book to create for himself a windmill. Now this is clearly an extreme case, but how many of use could say that with only a book, no help from teachers if we didn't understand something and no other resources, could build a functioning windmill that an entire village relies on. William Kamkwamba is clearly a very talented individual who used recieved his knowledge from a book and then created something extraordinary.