I think an analogy to writing is helpful. Universal literacy is a very recent phenomenon. In the past, only a few elites in society could read and write. Howe

I think an analogy to writing is helpful. Universal literacy is a very recent phenomenon. In the past, only a few elites in society could read and write. However, now the expectation is that everyone should be able to read and write and in developed countries there is above 90% literacy rates. Just like with math, there is a continuum of skills. Not everyone will be able to write like Hemingway or Faulkner or Proust. But, we can and should expect a certain level of competency from everyone. Same with math. If being good at math is being like Ramanujan or Noether, then I suck at math. However, there are a lot of stuff I know about math and can use it to solve a lot of problems. Once we make a certain level of mathematical competence expected and gear our educational system to achieve that, this question becomes moot. Yes, some brains are better at math than others. Some brains are better at writing than others. Some bodies are better at running than others. But we shouldn't let that stop us from having everyone achieve competence. My kid will never be Usain Bolt, but I will do my best to make sure he can walk and run and jump.