From fishing villages on the coast of the Arabian Sea to New Delhi slums teeming with people and poverty, children are learning the basics of computing—all by themselves. It's an experiment in what Sugata Mitra calls Minimally Invasive Education. "We often make the incorrect assumption that a teacher is required everywhere," says Mitra. If he's right, it could be a boon in India, where more than 40 percent of 6- to 14-year-olds (some 79 million kids) are unable to attend school.