My reading of those two paragraphs makes the concept seem quite uncontroversial. Who here would deny that dedication and hard work are significant components of achievement and success and are things which should be encouraged?
There may be some people who believe that there are no differences in genetic/innate intellectual talent, but I've seen nothing that suggests Dweck is one of them.
Dweck claims that you can improve your innate ability through hard work. I disagree strongly.
You can improve your SKILL, but you can't improve your POTENTIAL.
So okay, you can't know your potential when you start developing a given skill. But lots of practice will give you a pretty good idea about where you'll end up, especially if you practice with other people or if you have access to what other people can do.
For example, I learned at an early age that I suck at drawing, and that no amount of practice will change that. Practice only makes my drawings less bad. My innate ABILITY simply will not change, though my skill might nudge a bit. I've tried several times over the years, and I know this for a fact.
I've taught undergrads, and I could see that some of my students just weren't good at [insert subject]. A few in each class tried hard, but they just couldn't do it anyway. I saw it when I was in school and when I was in college. There were the kids who just couldn't simplify the fractions, and the woman who failed statistics because she just couldn't understand it, in spite of lots of work. Etc.
What bugs me about Dweck and her ilk is the feel-good lying and the distortions. Admitting that not everyone has the same level of talent for academics or sports or whatever is discomfiting. But instead of accepting reality, Growth Mindset just pretends that anyone can do calculus or be a pro athlete if they work hard enough. And it blames its victims when they crap out, because, after all, if you work hard enough, you'll increase your ability.
A huge result of this is the everyone-can-go-to-college mentality (which, I admit, has other factors driving it). We spoon-feed lies to children and then send a message that they're not working when they fail the college entrance math exam or can't make it through year 1 or 2 of a STEM major. It must be soul-crushing for these kids to realize that they simply aren't up to it after being told that they were for so long. And it must be doubly crushing to keep hearing that hard work is all it takes.
