Comments on: Babies with Grown-up Brains http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/ A blog about life, past and future. Written by DISCOVER contributing editor and columnist Carl Zimmer. Sat, 26 May 2012 01:25:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: The Growth of a Baby’s Brain Looks Like Human Evolution in Fast-Forward | 80beats | News http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-35023 The Growth of a Baby’s Brain Looks Like Human Evolution in Fast-Forward | 80beats | News Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:36:13 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-35023 [...] And Brain Structure 80beats: TV Can Slow Language Development, Even in the Background The Loom: Babies with Grown-Up Brains DISCOVER: Think Animals Don’t Think Like Us? Think [...] [...] And Brain Structure 80beats: TV Can Slow Language Development, Even in the Background The Loom: Babies with Grown-Up Brains DISCOVER: Think Animals Don’t Think Like Us? Think [...]

]]> By: YourTechWorld » The Growth of a Baby’s Brain Looks Like Human Evolution in Fast-Forward | 80beats http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-34998 YourTechWorld » The Growth of a Baby’s Brain Looks Like Human Evolution in Fast-Forward | 80beats Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:07:35 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-34998 [...] And Brain Structure 80beats: TV Can Slow Language Development, Even in the Background The Loom: Babies with Grown-Up Brains DISCOVER: Think Animals Don’t Think Like Us? Think [...] [...] And Brain Structure 80beats: TV Can Slow Language Development, Even in the Background The Loom: Babies with Grown-Up Brains DISCOVER: Think Animals Don’t Think Like Us? Think [...]

]]> By: Darren http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-1349 Darren Tue, 12 Oct 2004 18:59:35 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-1349 Jeff you missed the point. Not native language but any language, is easier learned by children. Bill, what made you brain stop growing and think Celine was a philosopher? Bottom line is, evolution is. Jeff you missed the point. Not native language but any language, is easier learned by children.
Bill, what made you brain stop growing and think Celine was a philosopher? Bottom line is, evolution is.

]]> By: Jeff Dodds http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-1348 Jeff Dodds Thu, 07 Oct 2004 18:28:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-1348 The assumption made by this article is that language is more easily learned by babies because they have some increased capacity to learn language and not because of daily hours of exposure. If an adult is completely emersed in a language they will learn the language just as fast as an infant, perhaps even a little faster. True, their pronunciation and deeper understandings may take a little extra work, like speech therapy and extra training. But your typical child is corrected and taught by its parents, where this type of correction seldom takes place with adults. An adult will be as good at a language they learn later in life as they choose to be, why couldn't Homo Erectus children, with more developed brains, have made this same choice? The assumption made by this article is that language is more easily learned by babies because they have some increased capacity to learn language and not because of daily hours of exposure.

If an adult is completely emersed in a language they will learn the language just as fast as an infant, perhaps even a little faster. True, their pronunciation and deeper understandings may take a little extra work, like speech therapy and extra training. But your typical child is corrected and taught by its parents, where this type of correction seldom takes place with adults.

An adult will be as good at a language they learn later in life as they choose to be, why couldn’t Homo Erectus children, with more developed brains, have made this same choice?

]]> By: William Gruzenski http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-1347 William Gruzenski Fri, 17 Sep 2004 13:46:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-1347 And why, asks the innocent child, is my journey so long? This 'Time' we see as development is but the continuous unlayering of the onion we fuzzingly refer to as Truth. It's an Undoing of what we thought we knew, a willingness to say "at least I can decide I do not like the way I feel." And thus the journey advances one more step closer to its Source. Celine Dione sings, 'It's never to long to find the way home," acknowleding our self made illusion of Time. This Instant is the only Time there is. We dream, but we must bless the dream to awaken. Bill And why, asks the innocent child, is my journey so long? This ‘Time’ we see as development is but the continuous unlayering of the onion we fuzzingly refer to as Truth. It’s an Undoing of what we thought we knew, a willingness to say “at least I can decide I do not like the way I feel.” And thus the journey advances one more step closer to its Source.
Celine Dione sings, ‘It’s never to long to find the way home,” acknowleding our self made illusion of Time. This Instant is the only Time there is. We dream, but we must bless the dream to awaken.

Bill

]]> By: Lij http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-1346 Lij Thu, 16 Sep 2004 21:36:26 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-1346 Interesting that Homo erectus might have a similar brain growth/age profile as that of the chimpanzee. Makes one wonder if such profiles if they could ever be created from sufficient data points from living and fossil evidence might be a co-indicator of ancestry among homonids and other primates. Makes me wonder if the onset of puberty and brain growth also correlate and how that works into the social structure of various primates. Probably a study out there somewhere; and it might actually be seen as more a coincidence. Interesting that Homo erectus might have a similar brain growth/age profile as that of the chimpanzee. Makes one wonder if such profiles if they could ever be created from sufficient data points from living and fossil evidence might be a co-indicator of ancestry among homonids and other primates.

Makes me wonder if the onset of puberty and brain growth also correlate and how that works into the social structure of various primates. Probably a study out there somewhere; and it might actually be seen as more a coincidence.

]]> By: Bob Ryskamp http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/comment-page-1/#comment-1345 Bob Ryskamp Wed, 15 Sep 2004 23:20:23 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2004/09/15/babies-with-grown-up-brains/#comment-1345 Reminds me of something I think Robert Wright mentioned in The Moral Animal; that humans develop slowly due to an inefficient birthing process with its roots in walking upright, which gave women narrower hips so babies had to be born smaller. If so, the first humans to be "erectus" might have still given birth at full brain size, giving even more importance to the development of walking upright, which now seems to have given us childhood. Very cool. Reminds me of something I think Robert Wright mentioned in The Moral Animal; that humans develop slowly due to an inefficient birthing process with its roots in walking upright, which gave women narrower hips so babies had to be born smaller.

If so, the first humans to be “erectus” might have still given birth at full brain size, giving even more importance to the development of walking upright, which now seems to have given us childhood. Very cool.

]]>