According to this view, mathematical talent and genius are inherited, and mathematical ability can be identified with pure intelligence. There is a hierarchical distribution of mathematical ability, from the mathematical genius at top, to the mathematically incapable, at the bottom. Teaching merely helps students to realize their inherited potential, and the ‘mathematical mind’ will shine through. Educational provision is needed for the mathematically gifted, to enable them to fully realize this talent. Since children vary greatly in mathematical ability, they need to be streamed in school for mathematics. It is an elitist theory of mathematical ability, seeing it as hierarchical and stratified, and valuing those at the top most.