Calculating probabilities and creating games? American scholars believe that babies have the quality of scientists

The reference news network reported on December 28 that according to the Economic News Network of Buenos Aires, Argentina, why do babies have the incredible ability to invent creative games? American psychologist Alison Gopnik describes a series of discoveries she made about infant cognitive abilities.

The eldest of the 6 siblings is one of the reasons Gopnick's career is on track. From the time she began studying psychology and philosophy, Alison Gopnik systematically turned her interest to thinking about infant ways of thinking. "I inevitably became a surrogate mom at home," she said in an interview with the media. The 66-year-old psychologist was born in Pennsylvania. Gopnik added: "I always have 5 younger brothers and sisters around me. We were born in 11 years. I had my first child at 23, so my life has always been surrounded by babies. ”

In this environment, her academic puzzles focused on one comparison: Learning or mastering that knowledge would mean a grueling, high-intensity task for an adult compared to the amount of knowledge that an infant absorbs in a short period of time.

Gopnik holds a degree from McGill University and a PhD from Oxford University, has written more than 100 scientific articles and books, and is a member of the Cognitive Science Association. She often asked herself: How do we learn? How is knowledge stored? Why is some knowledge alive and some not? Faced with these problems, she always draws lessons from her own life surrounded by babies. "In my opinion, babies' abilities have always been underestimated," she said. ”

The reporter asked (hereinafter referred to as "ask"): Why?

Gopnik answered: In the lab today, we have evidence that infant learning is much more comprehensive than we think. For example, we were able to demonstrate their ability to calculate statistical probabilities and update their hypotheses based on what they learned, just like any scientist would. When proceeding to the first professional step, I often ask out loud, "How can babies solve this problem?" "I'll get dozens of unbelievable glances until I manage to prove that babies are doing humanity's most daunting task: recognizing, learning, and understanding the world around them." Their learning process is so important and arduous, so fast and so special that I think babies should be another human being, like another human species.

Q: Some people say that babies can do simple math.

A: Yes, they can. You can do a test at home. If you put a toy on the table and cover it with a book, hide another toy without opening the book, if you open the book, there are 2 toys, then the baby will react differently. Even if they can't express specific numbers, or judging that there can't be two based on what happens, they will express surprise if the numbers differ from what they expected.

Q: What makes us change as we grow?

A: At the age of 5, in order to survive, we must adhere to the basic principles in order to continue to grow and progress. For example, identify what is dangerous, or what can be eaten with confidence without the need for hands-on experimentation. That's when neural connections begin to differentiate between those that become strong and effective in non-infancy and those that disappear over time. The development of prefrontal control capabilities allows us to avoid distractions, focus on a specific task, and plan how to proceed to the next step.

Q: How much do parents contribute to their growing curiosity about their babies?

A: Parents have a decisive role to play. Adults open the door to curiosity based on the diversity, frequency, complexity, and degree of stimulation. Adults are also objects that can be imitated. Babies imitate based on what they see, and this ability comes not only from parents, but also from other adults who keep in touch with the baby, such as nannies, grandparents, teachers, etc.

Q: At this point, what types of parents do you distinguish?

A: Yes, there is a world of difference between careful parents who support discovery and parents who suppress overprotective discovery. If adults never allow babies to take small risks that don't involve life-threatening risks, they will never learn how to deal with the risks and are likely to grow into children and adults who are reluctant to accept challenges. The "helicopter-style" parenting style influenced the development of autonomous reasoning. This is a way of education that is the same as the model followed by artificial intelligence. Modern deep learning systems focus on data imitation, but encounter difficulties in generalizing causal models of the world. But babies are free to learn.

Q: In your new book, you talk about gardeners and carpenters, can you elaborate on this classification?

A: This is a metaphor I use to try to describe the way each of us thinks. People who think like carpenters have a picture in their head of a chair you want to build. With a lot of detail and a high degree of precision, it is possible to build exactly the kind of chair you want. At the other extreme is a gardener who doesn't know what happens in the garden, you know what you want, but you have to submit to all kinds of uncontrollable variables. A garden, like any ecosystem, diversity makes it more resilient. Thus training a gardener and a carpenter are two diametrically opposed directions of education. (Editor/Liu Lifei)