Can intelligence be learned?

I just finished reading an article in the Scientific American How to raise smart kids. I have a kid, and I am trying to raise him, so I thought a little extra reading on my part would be a good idea. The article bascially says that effort is more important than innate ability. I have a lot of innate ability, and as I was reading the article I kept thinking that, "yes, that's exactly what happened to me." I breezed through high school, all 16 of them, with no problems or even much of a challenge. When I started college, my lazy, 'it will just come to me' mode of operation hit a brick wall. Unfortunately, by that time I didn't know how to study. American high school does not teach you how to learn, it teaches you how to obey and fit in. Obediance and fitting in are not exactly the kind of life skills you need to excel. The most important indicator of future success is your level of persistence.

The article gave some concrete evidence that effort is very important (usually even more important than innate skill). It also gives some specific examples on how to talk to your child so that you don't screw them up. I recommend it.