The Remarkable Intelligence of Infants

Developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik has been in a very small minority among her fellow philosophy scholars; for one, she’s woman, but more importantly, she is convinced that philosophers were doing themselves a disservice by ignoring the importance of babies in our searches to the answers to humanity’s big questions. Gopnik sat down with Big Think to talk about how exactly you go about studying the minds of young children, and what they have taught her about child-rearing, education, love, and more.  She even gives us all a great excuse to run off to Paris with a lover and drink double espressos at a cafe.

As it turns out, caffeine and travel are two of the best techniques to experience the world as an infant does;  though this may not sound to desirable, infants are in fact more effective than adults at experience simultaneous sensations and making creative connections. 

Gopnik also explains how little league baseball teams demonstrate a much better understanding of children’s development than classrooms, and explains how schools should change to meet the needs of young minds.

And if you think Gopnik had an easier time raising her kids because of her developmental psychology background, you’re wrong.  She told Big Think why.