IQ alone can't solve calculus problems.
No here has said that it can.
Bostonian is implying it with a rejection of the notion of the growth mindset and the identification of IQ as a fixed thing. So, IQ alone won't solve calculus... you still have to grow your math skills, regardless of your innate abilities.
But the same is true of lack of IQ alone, except that 10,000 hours of practice still won't get some people through trigonometric substitution.
Indeed. Ability matters. Effort matters. If we're going to turn this into a binary proposition, then there should be an AND gate in there, in order for the output to be GREATNESS (however you choose to define that). And we'd have to add other inputs: environment, opportunity, and health, for starters.
So we end up pushing students into courses they're not ready for or capable of, and we find ways to give them extra credit to compensate for low test scores. That way, everyone can get a good grade in geometry by "working hard." And we produce thousands of kids every year who graduate from high school with honors and promptly fail the math and English placement tests before they start their first semester of college.
Well, if we look at the five inputs I've proposed up above, it's not terribly difficult to imagine that a person of above average ability, given great health, environment, opportunities, and effort will manage to do great things. And hey, look around, and you find that it's people who fit that exact profile who have all the power and wealth. So they're clearly on to something.
And in fact, "above average ability" would be something to aspire to for some of our national leaders.
