I feel like I ought to offer this link: http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/08/no-clarity-around-growth-mindset-yet/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/08/no-clari

I feel like I ought to offer this link: http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/08/no-clarity-around-growth-mindset-yet/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/08/no-clarity-around-growt... There are several more pieces in that series, on that site, if you care to look. The reality and strength of the Growth Mindset theory is fairly unclear, despite a lot of books pushing it as gospel. It's also unclear whether it's accurate even if it is effective - there's an open possibility that people who are basically delusional about their own potential practice harder than the realists, and a handful of them who had high starting potential get great results. So... age-related degeneration is real, neuroplasticity drops over time, but I wouldn't want to connect that to growth mindset because I'm not convinced that's even a real effect.