Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What would you ask Carol Dweck?

This is one of those Davidson threads that confuses me. For those who are enthusiastic about Dweck's ideas, why are you here, when her entire philosophy is grounded in the idea that intelligence isn't innate? I mean, I've met enough HG+ people to know that a high IQ doesn't make people immune to woo, but growth mindset is so hostile to innate giftedness, I honestly can't understand why people could believe it AND talk about the unique needs of HG+ kids.

Here's a quote from the Mindset Works/Brainology web site:


a) Is it a myth that some people are born to be taller or naturally stronger than others? YES, it's a valid comparison. Height, strength, and intelligence result from anatomy and/or physiological processes (and genetics). All can be severely hindered by a poor environment, and while they can be optimized in a good environment, the degree to which they can be optimized is << the degree to which they can be hindered. (Umpteen references, including those related to physiological constraints on linear growth in a generation, available on request.)

b) Nice trick: they used a lie about innate ability to make an invalid claim about IQ and competitiveness. This type of language is very useful for manipulating people.


This idea is integral to the growth mindset philosophy. What does this site have to offer adherents, given that this board is heavily focused on HG+ kids being different from their peers in some ways because of cognitive abilities they were born with? And BTW, if intelligence isn't innate, why do so many HG+ babies develop skills weeks and months ahead of neurotypical babies? My daughter was using her hands before she was a month old (this skill normally develops in the third month). Did she just have a growth mindset about getting her fingers into her mouth? Did my month-old son have a growth mindset about reaching for objects? Did they both have growth mindsets about paying attention to the world around them, consistently, from birth? Why do so many people here report the same things, while so many others in the population are surprised by what HG+ newborns do?

Dweck claims and that the brain is "a muscle" that can be developed. Obviously, more practice with cognitively demanding tasks can improve SKILL, but this is not the same as changing ABILITY. Similarly, people can work out with weights and get stronger, but not everyone will be able to bench press 250 pounds, no matter how hard they try. Do I have a fixed mindset because I accept this fact about myself? Or am I just avoiding the potential for injury by asking too much of my muscles?

Honestly, we have in unequal society and it's natural for people perceive very smart people as having a "competitive advantage." It's true in many ways --- if you're smart, it's easier to get a STEM degree, and people whose education is limited don't have access to the middle class the way they did 50 years ago.

However, IQ isn't the problem: it's that our leaders have chosen to put the needs of many of our citizens (that is, good jobs) at a lower priority. People like Dweck manipulate this fact and play into the "solution" that everyone should to go to college. Pretending that you can growth mindset your way to a degree in engineering is, IMO, equivalent to and as cruel as claims that anyone can be president/a software developer/etc if they just work hard.

Finally, what makes me even more suspicious is that she's running a Brainology business. I mean, seriously --- Brainology? My woo meter is deep in the red there.