Society's Views on Intelligence and Talent

“Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability-along with confidence in that ability-is a recipe for success."

"In fact, however, more than 30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings”(Carol S. Dweck, Scientific American Mind - November 28, 2007).

This passage is significant to the paper because it describes the main problem which is going to be addressed and discussed. It also tells an almost sad yet true statement that society warships talent, and many people who are talented may never realize it because they don’t feel that they possess intelligence or ability.

The passage then states that the people who who put an overemphasis on talent and being smart are more susceptible to fail, fear challenges, and not wanting to try to fix their mistakes.

Thinking Like a Fifth Grader

“They understood that even geniuses have to work hard for their accomplishments. Confronted by a setback such as a disappointing test grade, students with a growth mind-set said they would study harder or try a different strategy for mastering the material” (Carol S. Dweck, Scientific American Mind - November 28, 2007).
I landmarked this passage because it displays how these kids with a growth mindset weren’t so prideful that they couldn’t embrace failure. When those with a growth mindset didn’t receive the grade that they had expected, they had the immediate response of putting in more effort the next time around.

I also liked how it mentions trying a different strategy, because the way you go about studying is different for every person and these students understood that not every strategy will always work for them.

Preconceived Notions About Intelligence

“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.

Science Against Motivation

“30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings” (Carol S. Deck, Scientific America Mind - Noveber 28, 2007)

This passage is important due to the fact that it sums up the the rest of the article in less than a sentence. In a few words, this passage lets the reader know what can cause students and adults to underperform in school and at the workplace. We can take away from this excerpt that positive encouragement based solely on intelligence can be more harmful to the receiver than motivational.

Science Against Motivation

“30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings” (Carol S. Deck, Scientific America Mind - Noveber 28, 2007)

This passage is important due to the fact that it sums up the the rest of the article in less than a sentence. In a few words, this passage lets the reader know what can cause students and adults to underperform in school and at the workplace. We can take away from this excerpt that positive encouragement based solely on intelligence can be more harmful to the receiver than motivational.

Perspective of Knowledge

“Several years later I developed a broader theory of what separates the two general classes of learners-helpless versus mastery-oriented. I realized that these different types of students not only explain their failures differently, but they also hold different “theories” of intelligence ” (Carol S Dweck, Scientific American Mind - November 28, 2007)

The author explains the differences between how students approach their knowledge. This is an important passage because it explains the student’s mindset of how they think of themselves and of their academic encounters. Fixed mind-sets can cause issues for children, but can also be caused from how a child was raised. A growth mind-set is much more effective and any student can learn how to have a growth mind-set.

Facing the Problem

“Confronting Deficiencies: A belief in fixed intelligence also makes people less willing to admit to errors or to confront and remedy their deficiencies in school, at work and in their social relationships.

In a study published in 1999 of 168 freshman entering the University of Hong Kong, three colleagues and I found that students with a growth mind-set who scored poorly on their English proficiency exam were far more inclined to take a remedial English course than were low-scoring students with a fixed mind-set.

The students with a stagnant view of intelligence were presumably unwilling to admit to their deficit and thus passed up the opportunity to correct it” (Carol S. Dweck, Scientific American Mind - November 28, 2007).

This passage shows how the growth mindset students are willing to admit their failure, and used it as motivation to try again, and work harder. Confronting deficiencies means to face the problem, and the fixed mindset people did everything except that.

They quit because they did not want to admit to the problem, they thought the problem was that they just were not smart enough, so the only option was to give up. The students with a growth mindset wanted to learn more and took this failure as an opportunity to improve.