In ancient times there was no public education, except that of the forum, the theater, and the street, and the general degree of illiteracy was very high. . . . the early men of science were left very much to themselves and such a phrase as "the scientific culture of Alexandria in the third century B. C. " does not cover any reality. In a sense, this is still true today; the real pioneers are so far ahead of the crowd (even a very literate crowd) that they remain almost alone.
I've paid for more pianos in hotel lobbies than you can imagine.