We know what makes babies smart and happy and thrive. It’s having human beings who are dedicated to caring for them – human beings who are well supported, not stressed out and not poor. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
The ancient media of speech and song and theater were radically reshaped by writing, though they were never entirely supplanted, a comfort perhaps to those of us who still thrill to the smell of a library. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
Historically, absolute IQ scores have risen substantially as we’ve changed our environment so that more people go to school longer. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
Many philosophers say it’s impossible to explain our conscious experience in scientific, biological terms at all. But that’s not exactly true. Scientists have explained why we have certain experiences and not others. It’s just that they haven’t explained the special features of consciousness that philosophers care about. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
The brain knows the real secret of seduction, more effective than even music and martinis. Just keep whispering, ‘Gee, you are really special’ to that sack of water and protein that is a body, and you can get it to do practically anything. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
Our babies are like penguins; penguin babies can’t exist unless more than one person is taking care of them. They just can’t keep going. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
In most places and times in human history, babies have had not just one person but lots of people around who were really paying attention to them around, dedicated to them, cared to them, were related to them. I think the big shift in our culture is the isolation in which many children are growing up. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
The thing that is most important is having people who are involved and engaged with the kids and also are not stressed and can be involved with them. And that’s actually not boring and banal. That actually takes a lot of work to make that happen, and it’s not something that our society does very well at all. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
One of the things I say is, ‘You want to know what it’s like to be a baby? It’s like being in love for the first time in Paris after four double espressos.’ And boy, you are alive and conscious. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
What, of course, we want in a university is for people to learn the skills they’re going to need outside the classroom. So, having a system that had more emphasis on inquiry and exploration but also on learning and practising specific skills would fit much better with how we know people learn. Alison Gopnik Read Quote
