It's unfocused, random, and extremely good at what it does. How we can learn from a baby's brain.
WHAT IS IT like to be a baby? For centuries, this question would have seemed absurd: behind that adorable facade was a mostly empty head. A baby, after all, is missing most of the capabilities that define the human mind, such as language and the ability to reason. Rene Descartes argued that the young child was entirely bound by sensation, hopelessly trapped in the confusing rush of the here and now. A newborn, in this sense, is just a lump of need, a bundle of reflexes that can only eat and cry. To think like a baby is to not think at all.
Modern science has largely agreed, spending decades outlining all the things that babies couldn't do because their brains had yet to develop. They were unable to focus, delay gratification, or even express their desires. The Princeton philosopher Peter Singer famously suggested that "killing a disabled infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Very often it is not wrong at all."
Now, however, scientists have begun to dramatically revise their concept of a baby's mind. By using new research techniques and tools, they've revealed that the baby brain is abuzz with activity, capable of learning astonishing amounts of information in a relatively short time. Unlike the adult mind, which restricts itself to a narrow slice of reality, babies can take in a much wider spectrum of sensation - they are, in an important sense, more aware of the world than we are. ...
..."We've had this very misleading view of babies," says Alison Gopnik, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the forthcoming book, "The Philosophical Baby." "The baby brain is perfectly designed for what it needs to do, which is learn about the world. There are times when having a fully developed brain can almost seem like an impediment." ...
WHAT IS IT like to be a baby? For centuries, this question would have seemed absurd: behind that adorable facade was a mostly empty head. A baby, after all, is missing most of the capabilities that define the human mind, such as language and the ability to reason. Rene Descartes argued that the young child was entirely bound by sensation, hopelessly trapped in the confusing rush of the here and now. A newborn, in this sense, is just a lump of need, a bundle of reflexes that can only eat and cry. To think like a baby is to not think at all.
Modern science has largely agreed, spending decades outlining all the things that babies couldn't do because their brains had yet to develop. They were unable to focus, delay gratification, or even express their desires. The Princeton philosopher Peter Singer famously suggested that "killing a disabled infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Very often it is not wrong at all."
Now, however, scientists have begun to dramatically revise their concept of a baby's mind. By using new research techniques and tools, they've revealed that the baby brain is abuzz with activity, capable of learning astonishing amounts of information in a relatively short time. Unlike the adult mind, which restricts itself to a narrow slice of reality, babies can take in a much wider spectrum of sensation - they are, in an important sense, more aware of the world than we are. ...
..."We've had this very misleading view of babies," says Alison Gopnik, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the forthcoming book, "The Philosophical Baby." "The baby brain is perfectly designed for what it needs to do, which is learn about the world. There are times when having a fully developed brain can almost seem like an impediment." ...
more：Inside the baby mindBy Jonah Lehrer
6 条评论:
"they are, more aware of the world than we are. ..." 界过嘛，我是十分赞同滴。
其实，也正因为“their brains had yet to develop”，用我自己的话是还没有被革命，他们对周遭一切的风吹草动其实比成人反应得更快而准，他们的七情就是很好的讯息。
你相信么，婴儿接触到一个心恶（因为有些人是面恶心善滴）的人，他是会有一些negative 的反应的。
说真的，我从来对婴儿的脑袋瓜都带有一份莫名的敬意，对他们的七情更是十分的在意。
不好意思，写多了。
小时当大人说骗话时，一看他们的脸孔就知道。而且对好人坏人直觉比较强烈。
现在这种能力已全部消失了，而且越老越笨。在亲友圈中，我的容易上当受骗是岀了名的。
soli hor, 最后一段我不信 hor...
哈哈~~
听过粉红陷阱吗？年纪越老，误入的频率越高，而且每次都是睁着眼睛踏进去的。cc..
你不是说你是老姜么？很辣的喔。。。
这次你惨liao你，我将军你，哈~~哈`~~哈~~
就是因为老,才能没有错觉的，客观地看待与评估自已。
老姜是否更辣，要视其是否超过expiry date.
你倒是很善于鼔励老年人，精神可嘉！
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