“People do differ in intelligence, talent and ability. And yet research is converging on the conclusion that great accomplishment, and even what we call genius, is typically the result of years of passion and dedication and not something that flows naturally from a gift" (Carol S. Dweck, Scientific American Mind - November 28, 2007).
I marked this as the most significant passage because it highlighted the main significance of the reading, which is that although there often is a preconceived notion that intelligence is an innate trait, research now shows that it is less of a gift and more the result of hard work.
This idea that intelligence is an effort, not a talent, is striking because it makes one think about the possibilities of increasing brain capacity, and I thought that this passage did this particularly well by saying that it is “not something that flows naturally from a gift”.
The concept that our “geniuses” derive from effort and focus, not on raw brainpower, incentives the reader to put in more effort, knowing that it has an effect on increasing intelligence, and I believe that in itself is extremely powerful.
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