[joshcorbin]

I'm really still trying to come to terms with the opener: "It’s not like I deserve any credit for being smart. I didn’t do anything to make that happen. I’m also tall, but nobody compliments me on that. (Good job being tall!) Intelligence is an immutable characteristic that I have at times capitalized on and at other times let go to waste."

To my layman understanding of psychology, and especially what intelligence research has been uncovering over the last few decades, the exact opposite is the case: - intelligence is far from an immutable trait - we do a lot to influence our own intelligence (perhaps far more than we realize, since much of what we do is due to implicit socialization/upbringing)

If you're going to use an analogy to a physical characteristic, than I'd suggest using weight not height: yes there are relevant genetic traits, but they're only a fraction of the story.

[konstantintin]

once you are a fully developed adult, intelligence is normally very stable. an analogy with weight simply doesn't work: anybody can increase their weight simply by eating more, but we don't know of any reliable methods of massively increasing or reducing intellignece.