Psychologist, Alison Gopnik gave a Ted Talk where she made some bold statements about the minds of babies and children. In it, she explained that while adults are task-oriented and tend to focus like a spotlight on one thing at a time, children have more of a lantern of consciousness, taking in and learning from all of the environment. In this way, she believes that children are actually more conscious than adults.
Experimenting with the environment and learning about it is the job of the child. When adults see this happening we tend to call it “getting in to everything” but it is the true work of childhood.
The Ted Talk, viewable here, is informative, funny, and certainly worth a look. Enjoy!
