For years, academically gifted children were thought to fit neatly into a category. If they took a test and landed above a predetermined score, a menu of enrichment activities and accelerated classes would open up to them. But developmental psychologists are learning that people who are gifted are not categorized quite so neatly. Academic talents can wax and wane, the latest thinking goes, meaning that a child who clearly outpaces his or her peers academically at age 8 can end up solidly in the middle of the pack by the end of high school. Instead of being innate and immutable, giftedness can be nurtured and even taught--and if ignored, it can also be lost. This article describes a new book, "The Development of Giftedness and Talent Across the Life Span," slated for release in January by the American Psychological Association. In the book, several researchers explore pieces of the mosaic that makes up giftedness and talent, from the social aspects that lead to the development of talent, to an exploration of the emergence of giftedness in adulthood. The concept that giftedness is fluid shows in the very language that the volume uses to describe children and adults with talents. No longer are there references to "the gifted," which implies a permanent state. Instead, the authors of the various chapters refer to giftedness and talents.