HN's founder, pg, has done something to promote this idea.

http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html

"I'm not saying there's no such thing as genius. But if you're trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right."

It is indeed a good idea for people who are trying to solve hard problems not to ask, "How good is my ability?" but rather to ask, "What use am I making of all my ability and all my other resources to solve this problem?"