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Title: The Scientist in the Crib : What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind by Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff, Patricia K. Kuhl ISBN: 0-688-17788-3 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 26 December, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.89 (18 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: An interesting topic, but suffers from poor organization.
Comment: I bought this book because, having recently become a father, I wanted to get a better idea of what my baby thinks about and feels from people who make a living studying just that. I also wanted to know how scientists organize and practice the study of infant development; how do you observe an infant's actions and draw information about them based on what they do? (or don't do.) While The Scientist In The Crib is full of a lot of interesting anecdotes, and I certainly wouldn't question the authors' credibility, it is disappointingly organized around very general concepts as opposed to chronology, so that the thread of actual development is difficult to follow from one section to the next. This book really seems more like a series of articles, some more and some less interesting. The chapters examine what children learn about people [chapter 2], things [chapter 3], and then language [chapter 4], and then what scientists have learned about children's minds [chapter 5] and then what scientists have learned about children's brains [chapter 6](the distinction between minds and brains is probably much more meaningful if you're working in the field). There are two different sections entitled 'what newborns know.' I found myself skipping around looking for information relevant to my son and the age that he is now. I suppose if I was not so personally invested in these questions I could examine things in the lofty and generalized manner of this book, but, really, parenting is more a practical than a philosophical pursuit, and a chronological approach would have made the information (and there is a lot) much more accessible and interesting for parents.
Rating: 4
Summary: Amazing scientific study of what babies know and learn
Comment: This is a fascinating report of research studies that compare the mind of a baby to a computer. The brain is programmed to receive and sort out information from all the senses and to use input from adults and kids to change the program as learning provides new experiences. The authors have done their own research and reviewed other studies about babies and toddlers to back up their analyses of infant learning. Parents and grandparents will be fascinated as they compare the development of young children in their families to the explanations of the infants' "scientific" explorations, classifications, and language learning. You'll find out why everyone talks "motherese" to babies. You'll realize that the kid in the crib is not just lying there waiting for the next diaper or bottle, but is very busy indeed figuring out the world and how it works. A truly fascinating book!
Rating: 4
Summary: Incredibly informative, intriguing (and a bit irritating)
Comment: This is an incredible book for the reader with an open mind and a desire to learn. The authors tell us what they have learned and experienced in the field of child development and learning, and they have the credentials to be true experts and terrific sources of knowledge. I found the information they conveyed to be positively fascinating. Some of it I had either already somehow suspected, read about elsewhere, or noticed myself, but there was plenty that also surprised me, as well. It helped to know this information because just about everyone deals with children at some point, and it makes a real difference to know where they are coming from. It is also interesting information, given that WE all were children too.
The only thing I found irritating were the humorous comments scattered throughout the book. I would have rather had the information given to me without these comical references (some of which I did not get, therefore did not find funny). I repeatedly found myself trying to ignore these supposedly comical anecdotes and to just pay attention to the data they were trying to convey. I consider myself a pretty funny person, but this was annoying.
Other than that, though, this book is GREAT! A wonderful way to increase your knowledge of children and how (and when) they learn.
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