You have written about the "growth mindset" a lot, but the fact is that intelligence *is* largely fixed. Studying algebra or French or the piano should be done because of the intrinsic value of those activities or because academic achievement helps you get ahead, not because studying makes you smarter. I have seen little evidence that it raises "g". I doubt that lying to people (or to put it more diplomatically, muddling the meaning of concepts such as "intelligence") is the path to educational progress.
Bostonian, I am far from an expert on this topic, but I google really well
I like to read the "nature vs. nurture" debates regarding IQ. And I keep coming up with articles that talk about the "plasticity" of the young brain and how the brain changes because of stimuli, skill acquisition and also the "use it or lose it" theory. I also keep reading that for boys, the frontal lobe develops a lot later than for girls (apparently, for boys it develops when they are well into their teens). Considering these factors I always wonder if IQ is really a "fixed" entity or if what we see in testing is what is "visible" during that timeframe to the tester.
Playing violin early (at the age of 6) is being attributed to Einstein's Corpus Callosum being larger and for his right frontal lobe being "significantly enhanced" - and hence he was a genius - according to recent papers from researchers. So, I tend to wonder if IQ is fluid and develops depending on how the child is intellectually stimulated.
HK, my DS has also reached his milestones in quantum leaps - he does not grow into them - he just reaches them one day. He got up and walked one day and the very next day was running very fast. He read and swam and did pretty much everything else in the same way - 0-60 under 5 seconds is how I refer to his acquisition of new skills. I never gave much thought to it assuming that his "perfectionism" was what made him wait until he could reach mastery in anything before attempting it. But, reading your experience, it makes me wonder if this points to a very high rate of acquisition of new skillsets.
