
What Is It Like To Be A Baby? - robg
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-baby/#ixzz10O7vTT6p
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doki_pen
Only a minor detail, but the author says the children need to learn to walk.

At some point I learned of an experiment that proved walking was an instinct,
the only thing stopping a newborn from walking is the lack of support and
strength. Unfortunately, I don't remember the details of the experiment. But
there are many animals that walk as soon as they are born.

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adorton
Is this a well-understood model of a developing brain, or is this more
"cutting edge?" I ask because it seems to contradict, at least to a certain
degree, the concept of "attention deficit." How can a child be attention
deficit when this "deficit" seems like a normal phase of development?

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robg
I think it's more cutting edge but in light of what we're learning about the
developing brain. The frontal cortex is critical for "focus" and yet it
doesn't reach full maturation until 20-24 years old. We only know that,
definitively, from brain scans which are still relatively new in developmental
studies. And the longitudinal work just hasn't been done.

Keep in mind though that "deficit" is usually judged within ages. So a young
child isn't expected to have the same focus as an adult, just within the range
of other children their age. Context also matters.

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bd
If ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, does it also mean that animals see world
more like babies (and vice versa)?

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ascuttlefish
That's only loosely true. See:
[http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIIC6aOntogeny....](http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIIC6aOntogeny.shtml)

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thisisnotmyname
I would go further and say that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is
misleading at best, just plain wrong at worst. Its an alluring concept that is
unsupported by science.

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robg
Careful. The development of the brain in utero absolutely recapitulates
phylogeny.

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ignu
i was expecting this article to be about glenn beck

