http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath

"My education was of the most ordinary description, consisting of little more
than the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic at a common day school.
My hours out of school were passed at home and in the streets." – Michael
Faraday, who had little mathematics and no formal schooling beyond the primary
grades, is celebrated as an experimenter who discovered the induction of
electricity. He was one of the great founders of modern physics. It is
generally acknowledged that Faraday's ignorance of mathematics contributed to
his inspiration, that it compelled him to develop a simple, nonmathematical
concept when he looked for an explanation of his electrical and magnetic
phenomena. Faraday is considered by some to have possessed two qualities that
more than made up for his lack of traditional education: fantastic intuition,
and independence and originality of mind.
"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." – Albert
Einstein
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." – Albert Einstein
"I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything, and by
using fear as the basic motivation. Fear of getting failing grades, fear of not
staying with your class, etc. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared
to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker... I never learned anything at
all in school and didn't read a book for pleasure until I was 19 years old." –
Stanley Kubrick
"I never let schooling get in the way of my education." – Mark Twain