I like hearing these stories but I get put off by the "and your kid can do this too if they try hard enough and you parent the right way" vibe.
I am just skeptical of the "intellect means almost nothing" part. Later in that paragraph it says "his intellect will help him a little".
I think a more realistic approach would be to say a kid that can do this at that age is intellectually probably one in ten thousand of same aged kids. Then among that small group, still fewer will have the executive function skills and maturity for actually doing advanced coursework at an elite university at 13. Then of that already very very small group, the kid would need to grow up in a supportive environment AND have the work ethic to actually make this happen.
I think it just irks me that we speak of natural athletes who become great athletes with hard work but to speak of the intellectual equivalent is taboo.
I didn't get that vibe. It seemed to me that the intended audience was parents of very bright children (the type of children that might be extremely bored in 6th grade.) Those parents may be familiar with paths to modest success, but not excellence. Thus, the explanation that it takes more than intellect to achieve great things.
