This author seems to be believing in the myth that there is such a thing as intrinsic smartness (being smart without effort). She perpetuates the misconception,

This author seems to be believing in the myth that there is such a thing as intrinsic smartness (being smart without effort). She perpetuates the misconception, without realizing the point she herself is making. Nobody is smart. It just doesn't exist. You just missed all the effort that went into becoming smart. You have the same myth in fighting sports. "Some people are just faster" sooner or later becomes someone's argument why they're not as good as others. They have the same nerves you do, and the ion cascade in their nerves is the exact same speed in theirs as it is in yours. It's just effort (in training, beforehand, not in the actual fight). Nothing more (aside from one thing: smaller people are in fact faster. Not because they think faster but because they have less torque to fight. A point that will be made in any karate tournament) Doesn't it seem a bit convenient ? The "truly smart" examples she gives: * a schizophrenic One sign of schizophrenia is doing the same thing unceasingly for absurd periods of times - sometimes decades. How much effort did this guy put in ? Not for good reasons, perhaps, but ... * a "female technology manager" ... .. dedicated her whole life to work. Then, one day, her husband asked her for a divorce because she barely came home. After 18 years, her children realized that she wasn’t the one who raised them ... * just truly "gifted" people They often have no balance in their own mental well being. Once they have identified an intellectual need, they try to fulfill that need single-mindedly at all cost. These are the people who are truly “gifted”. * Herself My intellect was in fact much more average than anyone realized. It was my “work ethic” that made me seem like an “intellectually gifted” person. I feel like it is very important to give kids (yes, through forcing them) the ability to focus and expend effort to achieve a goal. This is of course not to be pushed at the expense of everything else, but it very important.