智商高就會成功。這仍然是社會的主流想法。著名大學的博士生智商當然不會低，但這不代表要成功，智商就是一切。
　　How Children Succeed - Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character的作者Paul Tough把這種智商大於一切的想法稱為"the cognitive hypothesis"(認知的假說)。
　　Cognitive hypothesis是："the belief 'that success today depends primarily on cognitive skills - the kind of intelligence that gets measured on I.Q. tests, including the abilities to recognize letters and words, to calculate, to detect patterns - and that the best way to develop these skills is to practice them as much as possible, beginning as early as possible.'"
　　這種想法相信，現在，成功主要靠的是認知的能力——那些智商測驗量度的智能，包括認字、計數和看出模式的能力。若要培養、發展這些技能，最好就是不斷練習，越早開始越好。
　　但Paul Tough認為成功要素不是IQ，而是性格。他的理論可稱為"the character hypothesis"︰
　　...the notion that noncognitive skills, like persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, grit and self-confidence, are more crucial than sheer brainpower to achieving success.
　　根據他的理論，最重要的性格特質包括：persistence(鍥而不捨的精神)、self-control(自控能力)、curiosity(好奇心)、conscientiousness(認真辦事)、grit(膽量)和self-confidence(自信)。Brainpower是腦力。要成功，這些性格特質比brainpower更重要。

      失敗乃成功之母
　　那怎樣才可令孩子擁有這些性格特質呢？Paul Tough在書中引述了很多心理學和神經系統學的研究，發現關鍵在於：
　　"Psychologists and neuroscientists have learned a lot in the past few decades about where these skills come from and how they are developed," Tough writes, and what they've discovered can be summed up in a sentence: Character is created by encountering and overcoming failure.
　　原來關鍵是failure。"Encountering and overcoming failure"(遇上和克服失敗)，是形成強而有力的成功性格的方法。
　　Paul Tough以美國社會為例，指出很多家庭都缺乏培養成功型性格的環境。特別是在經濟環境上處於兩極的家庭︰
　　The offspring of affluent(富有的) parents are insulated（隔絕）from adversity, beginning with their baby-proofed nurseries and continuing well into their parentally financed young adulthoods.
　　And while poor children face no end of challenges - from inadequate nutrition and medical care to dysfunctional(不正常的) schools and neighborhoods - there is often little support to help them turn these omnipresent(無處不在的) obstacles into character-enhancing triumphs.
　　看來孩子要成功，受點苦是免不了的。

      文︰子慧