Sure, but anyone with a couple of hours to spend on the Internet can find out what is in line with what's known about cognitive development (certainly more than a few threads at HN will provide). Since it was directed at cperciva specifically, there seems to be a desire to get something more than just knowledge. Permission, maybe? I dunno.

I just found the question interesting. And it's a common phenomenon. Musicians, for example, even not particularly gifted ones, get this kind of question pretty frequently--"can adults really learn to be good musicians?", "it just comes naturally to you, right?", etc. Humans have funny logic sometimes, I guess, including the people on the receiving end of the questions.