> I tend to agree that with enough time and _appropriate_ training anyone can become quite competent at anything It's something I don't believe. There's no evi

> I tend to agree that with enough time and _appropriate_ training anyone can become quite competent at anything It's something I don't believe. There's no evidence for it, but that would also be really hard to obtain. You'll get better with training, practice, exercise, but quite competent is a level very many people won't be able to manage. Physical competence is an obvious case. Roughly half the population is too young or too old to become e.g. a "quite competent" marathon runner, has ailments, handicaps, etc. An even larger part simply is not tall enough to reach beyond than absolute amateur level in certain sports (basketball, volleyball). And the differences don't magically stop at the blood-brain barrier. I agree that more than 5% of the population could achieve the level currently held by the top 5%, but it's not a lot more.