Alison Gopnik: What do babies think?

Traducător: Denise RQ Corector: Maria Tancu

What is going on

Ce se petrece

in this baby's mind?

in mintea unui bebelus?

If you'd asked people this 30 years ago,

Daca ai fi intrebat oamenii acum 30 de ani,

most people, including psychologists,

majoritatea, inclusiv psihologii

would have said that this baby was irrational,

ti-ar fi raspuns ca acest bebelus este irational,

illogical, egocentric --

ilogic, egocentric-

that he couldn't take the perspective of another person

ca nu este capabil sa se puna in locul altei persoane

or understand cause and effect.

sau sa inteleaga procesul cauzei si efectului.

In the last 20 years,

In ultimii 20 de ani,

developmental science has completely overturned that picture.

stiinta sociala a dezvoltarii a schimbat complet aceasta orientare.

So in some ways,

In asa fel incat,

we think that this baby's thinking

acum consideram ca gandirea acestui bebelus

is like the thinking of the most brilliant scientists.

este asemanatoare cu cea a unora dintre cei mai straluciti oameni de stiinta.

Let me give you just one example of this.

Permiteti-mi sa va ofer un unic exemplu.

One thing that this baby could be thinking about,

Unul dintre lucrurile la care acest bebelus s-ar putea sa se gandeasca

that could be going on in his mind,

unul dintre lucrurile care ar putea sa-i treaca prin minte

is trying to figure out

este sa incerce sa-si dea seama

what's going on in the mind of that other baby.

ceea ce-i trece prin cap celuilalt bebelus.

After all, one of the things that's hardest for all of us to do

La urma urmelor, unul dintre cele mai grele lucruri pentru noi toti

is to figure out what other people are thinking and feeling.

este sa ne dam seama ceea ce gandesc si simt alte persoane.

And maybe the hardest thing of all

Si, probabil, cel mai greu lucru dintre toate este

is to figure out that what other people think and feel

sa-ti dai seama ca ceea ce alti gandesc si simt

isn't actually exactly like what we think and feel.

nu este deloc identic cu ceea ce noi gandim si simtim.

Anyone who's followed politics can testify

Orisicine care face politica poate sa dea marturie

to how hard that is for some people to get.

de cat este de greu sa-ti dai seama de ceea ce gandesc unii dintre noi.

We wanted to know

Noi am vrut sa stim

if babies and young children

daca bebelusii si tinerii

could understand this really profound thing about other people.

sunt in stare sa inteleaga acest lucru atat de profund.

Now the question is: How could we ask them?

Acum intrebarea este: Cum am putea sa-i intrebam in legatura cu asta?

Babies, after all, can't talk,

Pentru ca, la urma urmei, bebelusii nu pot sa vorbeasca

and if you ask a three year-old

si daca ii ceri unui copil de 3 ani

to tell you what he thinks,

sa-ti spuna ceea ce gandeste,

what you'll get is a beautiful stream of consciousness monologue

ceea ce vei obtine este un extraordinar monolog de flux al constiintei

about ponies and birthdays and things like that.

in legatura cu niste ponei, zile de nastere si chestii de genul asta.

So how do we actually ask them the question?

Deci, mai exact, cum le punem intrebarea?

Well it turns out that the secret was broccoli.

Pai bine, rezulta ca secretul este brocoli-ul.

What we did -- Betty Rapacholi, who was one of my students, and I --

Ceea ce am facut-Betty Rapacholi, o studenta de-a mea, si cu mine-

was actually to give the babies two bowls of food:

a fost sa le dam acestor bebelusi 2 boluri cu mancare:

one bowl of raw broccoli

un bol cu brocoli crud

and one bowl of delicious goldfish crackers.

iar altul cu biscuiti deliciosi in forma de pestisori.

Now all of the babies, even in Berkley,

Si tuturor bebelusilor, inclusiv celor din Berkley,

like the crackers and don't like the raw broccoli.

le plac biscuiti in timp ce nu vor brocoli crud.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

But then what Betty did

Dar ceea ce a continuat sa faca Betty

was to take a little taste of food from each bowl.

a fost sa guste un pic din macarea din fiecare bol.

And she would act as if she liked it or she didn't.

Si s-a prefacut ca ii placea sau nu ii placea.

So half the time, she acted

Asa ca, in jumatate din experimente, a pretins

as if she liked the crackers and didn't like the broccoli --

ca ii placeau biscuitii si nu ii placea brocoli-ul

just like a baby and any other sane person.

exact ca orice bebelus sau adult sanatos.

But half the time,

Dar in cealalta jumatate de experimente,

what she would do is take a little bit of the broccoli

a luat un pic din brocoli

and go, "Mmmmm, broccoli.

si facea: "Mmmmmmm, brocoli!

I tasted the broccoli. Mmmmm."

Tocmai am gustat brocoli-ul. Mmmmmm!"

And then she would take a little bit of the crackers,

Dupa care gusta un pic din biscuiti si zicea:

and she'd go, "Eww, yuck, crackers.

"Pfui, biscuiti!

I tasted the crackers. Eww, yuck."

Am gustat din biscuiti, groaznic!"

So she'd act as if what she wanted

Asa ca se prefacea ca ii place

was just the opposite of what the babies wanted.

exact acea mancare care nu le placea bebelusilor.

We did this with 15 and 18 month-old babies.

Am facut acest experiment cu bebelusi de 15 si 18 luni.

And then she would simply put her hand out and say,

Dupa care pur si simplu intindea mana si le spunea:

"Can you give me some?"

"Imi dai un pic?"

So the question is: What would the baby give her,

Asa ca intrebarea este: Ce o sa ii dea bebelusul,

what they liked or what she liked?

ceea ce le placea lor sau ceea ce ii placea ei?

And the remarkable thing was that 18 month-old babies,

Iar lucrul cel mai remarcabil a fost ca, bebelusii de 18 luni

just barely walking and talking,

care de-abia mergeau si vorbeau,

would give her the crackers if she liked the crackers,

ii dadeau biscuti daca ea se prefacuse inainte ca-i placeau,in timp ce

but they would give her the broccoli if she liked the broccoli.

altii ii dadeau brocoli, daca ea se prefacuse in fata acestora ca-i placuse brocoli-ul.

On the other hand,

Pe de alta parte,

15 month-olds would stare at her for a long time

cei de 15 luni mai degraba se uitau lung la ea

if she acted as if she liked the broccoli,

in cazul in care ea se prefacea ca ii placuse brocoli-ul,

like they couldn't figure this out.

ca si cum: " Nu inteleg de ce ii place brocoli-ul"

But then after they stared for a long time,

Dar, dupa ce o priveau timp indelungat,

they would just give her the crackers,

ii dadeau biscuiti,

what they thought everybody must like.

pentru ca ei credeau ca tuturor trebuie sa le placa biscuitii.

So there are two really remarkable things about this.

Asa ca aici avem doua descoperiri extraordinare.

The first one is that these little 18 month-old babies

Prima este ca acesti bebelusi de 18 luni,

have already discovered

au descoperit deja

this really profound fact about human nature,

lucruri importante in legatura cu natura umana,

that we don't always want the same thing.

ca de exemplu faptul ca nu toti dorim acelasi tip de lucruri.

And what's more, they felt that they should actually do things

Si chiar mai mult, ei chiar simt nevoia sa faca acele lucruri

to help other people get what they wanted.

cu care de fapt i-ar ajuta pe altii sa obtina ceea ce vor.

Even more remarkably though,

Ceea ce este si mai remarcabil,

the fact that 15 month-olds didn't do this

daca bebelusii de 15 luni nu fac acest lucru,

suggests that these 18 month-olds had learned

si cei de 18 luni pot sa o faca,este ca cei de 18 luni

this deep, profound fact about human nature

au invatat acest lucru despre natura umana

in the three months from when they were 15 months old.

in cele trei luni de diferenta.

So children both know more and learn more

Asa inseamna ca copiii pot sa gandeasca mult mai rapid si

than we ever would have thought.

si sa invete mult mai multe decat noi credeam pana acum.

And this is just one of hundreds and hundreds of studies over the last 20 years

Iar acesta este unul dintre sutele de studii si experimente facute in ultimii 20 de ani

that's actually demonstrated it.

care au demonstrat acealsi lucru.

The question you might ask though is:

Intrebarea care ati putea sa o faceti este totusi:

Why do children learn so much?

De ce invata copiii atat de multe?

And how is it possible for them to learn so much

Si, cum e posibil ca ei sa invete toate aceste lucruri

in such a short time?

intr-un timp atat de scurt?

I mean, after all, if you look at babies superficially,

Adica, vreau sa spun, bebelusii par destul de inutili

they seem pretty useless.

mai ales daca te uiti la ei in mod superficial.

And actually in many ways, they're worse than useless,

Iar in multe situatii sunt chiar mai rau decat inutili

because we have to put so much time and energy

pentru ca este nevoie de mult timp si energie

into just keeping them alive.

din partea noastra doar ca sa ii mentinem cu viata.

But if we turn to evolution

Asa ca, daca ceri raspunsul evolutiei,

for an answer to this puzzle

daca ceri raspunsul acestui puzzle,

of why we spend so much time

de ce pierdem atata timp

taking care of useless babies,

ingrijind bebelusi inutili

it turns out that there's actually an answer.

exista de fapt acest raspuns.

If we look across many, many different species of animals,

Daca ne uitam la multe, multe specii diferite de animale,

not just us primates,

nu doar primate ca noi,

but also including other mammals, birds,

ci si mamifere, pasari,

even marsupials

chiar si marsupiale,

like kangaroos and wombats,

ca de exemplu cangurii si ursul australian

it turns out that there's a relationship

rezulta ca exista o legatura

between how long a childhood a species has

intre durata copilariei a fiecarei specii

and how big their brains are compared to their bodies

si cat de mare este creierul in comparatie cu corpul lor

and how smart and flexible they are.

si cat de inteligenti si flexibili sunt.

And sort of the posterbirds for this idea are the birds up there.

Si pentru a exemplifica aceasta idee haideti sa ne uitam la aceste pasari de aici.

On one side

Pe de o parte

is a New Caledonian crow.

avem cioara de Noua Caledonie.

And crows and other corvidae, ravens, rooks and so forth,

Ciorile si alte pasari din familia Corvidelor, ca de exemplu corbii sau stancutele

are incredibly smart birds.

sunt pasari extrem de inteligente.

They're as smart as chimpanzees in some respects.

Din anumite puncte de vedere sunt la fel de inteligente ca si chimpanzeii.

And this is a bird on the cover of science

Iar pasarea de aici a aparut pe coperta revistei Science

who's learned how to use a tool to get food.

pentru ca a invatat sa utilizeze o unealta pentru a obtine mancarea.

On the other hand,

Pe de alta parte,

we have our friend the domestic chicken.

il avem pe prietenul nostru, puiul domestic.

And chickens and ducks and geese and turkeys

Acesti pui, ca si ratele si gastele si curcanii

are basically as dumb as dumps.

sunt mai prosti ca noaptea.

So they're very, very good at pecking for grain,

Sunt foarte, foarte buni la ciugulit graunte

and they're not much good at doing anything else.

dar practic nu sunt buni la nimic altceva.

Well it turns out that the babies,

Si rezulta ca puii,

the New Caledonian crow babies, are fledglings.

ma refer la puii de cioara de Noua Caledonie, sunt pasari inexperte.

They depend on their moms

Depind in totalitate de mamele lor

to drop worms in their little open mouths

ca sa le aduca viermi si sa ii introduca in ciocurile lor mici

for as long as two years,

timp de vreo 2 ani,

which is a really long time in the life of a bird.

perioada extrem de lunga in comparatie cu durata vietii unei astfel de pasari.

Whereas the chickens are actually mature

Pe de alta parte, puii domestici se maturizeaza

within a couple of months.

in cateva luni.

So childhood is the reason

Ca urmare, copilaria este motivul pentru care

why the crows end up on the cover of Science

pasari ca ciorile ajung pe coperta revistei Science

and the chickens end up in the soup pot.

in timp ce puii domestici termina in oala de ciorba.

There's something about that long childhood

Exista ceva in legatura cu acea perioada lunga a copilariei

that seems to be connected

care pare sa aiba legatura

to knowledge and learning.

cu procesul de cunoastere si invatare.

Well what kind of explanation could we have for this?

Deci, ce fel de explicatie am putea oferi la acest lucru?

Well some animals, like the chicken,

Pai bine, anumite pasari, ca de exemplu puiul domestic,

seem to be beautifully suited

par extraordinar de adaptate

to doing just one thing very well.

la a face bine doar un singur lucru.

So they seem to be beautifully suited

Par extrem de adaptate

to pecking grain in one environment.

pentru a ciuguli graunte intr-un mediu concret.

Other creatures, like the crows,

In timp ce alte vietati, ca de exemplu ciorile,

aren't very good at doing anything in particular,

nu sunt foarte bune la a face un singur lucru in concret

but they're extremely good

dar sunt extrem de bune

at learning about laws of different environments.

cand vine vorba sa invete despre legile care guverneaza medii diverse.

And of course, we human beings

Si bineinteles ca noi, fiintele umane

are way out on the end of the distribution like the crows.

sunt mult mai buni decat ciorile.

We have bigger brains relative to our bodies

Dimensiunea creierului nostru este mai mare decat ar trebui sa fie in relatie cu dimensiunea corpul nostru

by far than any other animal.

si intrecem in asta orice alta specie.

We're smarter, we're more flexible,

Sunt mai isteti, mai flexibili,

we can learn more,

invatam mai mult

we survive in more different environments,

putem sa supravietuim in mult mai multe tipuri de mediu inconjurator,

we migrated to cover the world and even go to outer space.

migram pe cuprinsul intregii planete si chiar si in spatiul extraterestru.

And our babies and children are dependent on us

Iar bebelusii si copiii nostri depind de noi

for much longer than the babies of any other species.

mult mai mult timp decat descendentii oricarei alte specii.

My son is 23.

Fiul meu are 23 de ani.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

And at least until they're 23,

Si, cel putin pana la varsta de 23 de ani,

we're still popping those worms

noi, ca parinti, continuam sa le aducem mura-n-gura

into those little open mouths.

tot ceea ce au nevoie.

All right, why would we see this correlation?

Bun, si de ce ne-ar interesa aceasta corelatie?

Well an idea is that that strategy, that learning strategy,

Pe de o parte observam ca aceasta strategie, aceasta strategie aplicata procesului de invatare,

is an extremely powerful, great strategy for getting on in the world,

este o strategie extrem de puternica si de buna care ne ajuta sa mergem inainte

but it has one big disadvantage.

dar care are un mare dezavantaj.

And that one big disadvantage

Iar acest mare dezavantaj

is that, until you actually do all that learning,

este ca, pana cand ajungi sa asimilezi tot ceea ce ai nevoie,

you're going to be helpless.

ramai neajutorat.

So you don't want to have the mastodon charging at you

Asa ca, in momentul in care, sa zicem, iti apare in fata un mastodont

and be saying to yourself,

si tu incepi sa-ti spui:

"A slingshot or maybe a spear might work. Which would actually be better?"

"Hm...o prastie sau o sulita cred ca mi-ar fi de folos. Care ar fi mai potrivita?"

You want to know all that

ti-ar conveni mult mai mult sa stii toate acele lucruri

before the mastodons actually show up.

inainte ca mastodontul sa apara de-adevaratelea.

And the way the evolutions seems to have solved that problem

Iar modalitatea pe care procesul evolutiv a gasit-o ca solutie la aceasta problema

is with a kind of division of labor.

este diviziunea muncii.

So the idea is that we have this early period when we're completely protected.

Ca urmare, ne bucuram de aceasta perioada timpurie in viata cand sunt pe deplin protejati.

We don't have to do anything. All we have to do is learn.

Nu trebuie sa facem nimic. Tot ce trebuie sa facem este sa invatam.

And then as adults,

Ca apoi, adulti

we can take all those things that we learned when we were babies and children

sa ne folosim de toate acele lucruri pe care le-am invatat cand eram bebelusi si copii mici

and actually put them to work to do things out there in the world.

si sa le punem de fapt la treaba ca sa ne facem treaba.

So one way of thinking about it

Asa ca un fel de a privi aceste lucruri

is that babies and young children

este sa-i vezi pe bebelusi si pe copiii mici

are like the research and development division of the human species.

ca un departament de cercetare si dezvoltare in cadrul speciei umane.

So they're the protected blue sky guys

Asa ca ei sunt tipii care au birou sus, la ultimul etaj al companiei

who just have to go out and learn and have good ideas,

si care doar trebuie sa se ocupe cu invatatul si cu aducerea unor idei bune

and we're production and marketing.

in timp ce noi suntem departamentul de productie si marketing.

We have to take all those ideas

Noi trebuie sa luam toate acele idei

that we learned when we were children

la care ne-am gandit cand eram copii

and actually put them to use.

si sa le punem in practica.

Another way of thinking about it

Un alt mod de a ne gandi la acest lucru

is instead of thinking of babies and children

are fi ca, in loc sa-i consideram pe bebelusi si copiii mici

as being like defective grownups,

ca fiind niste adulti defectuosi,

we should think about them

sa-i consideram

as being a different developmental stage of the same species --

o etapa aparte de dezvoltare in cadrul aceleasi specii,

kind of like caterpillars and butterflies --

ceva de genul omizi contra fluturi,

except that they're actually the brilliant butterflies

doar ca fluturii in acest caz

who are flitting around the garden and exploring,

sunt ei, si sunt cei care investigeaza in sus si in jos

and we're the caterpillars

iar noi suntem omizile

who are inching along our narrow, grownup, adult path.

niste omizi care ne aliniam din ce in ce mai mult pe cararea ingusta a maturitatii.

If this is true, if these babies are designed to learn --

Daca acest lucru se dovedeste adevarat, ca acesti bebelusi sunt programati sa invete-

and this evolutionary story would say children are for learning,

si procesul evolutiv ne spune ca acesti copii sunt aici ca sa invete,

that's what they're for --

asta este motivul existentei lor, ca sa invete-

we might expect

atunci ar trebui sa ne asteptam la faptul ca

that they would have really powerful learning mechanisms.

ei poseda niste mecanisme de invatare extrem de puternice.

And in fact, the baby's brain

De fapt, creierul bebelusilor

seems to be the most powerful learning computer

pare cel mai puternic calculator

on the planet.

de pe planeta.

But real computers are actually getting to be a lot better.

Desi calulatoarele de-adevarat se vor imbunatati din ce in ce mai mult.

And there's been a revolution

Si suntem martorii unei revolutii

in our understanding of machine learning recently.

in ceea ce priveste intelegerea procesului prin care o masinarie invata.

And it all depends on the ideas of this guy,

Si totul a inceput cu ideile acestui tip de aici

the Reverend Thomas Bayes,

reverendul Thomas Bayes,

who was a statistician and mathematician in the 18th century.

statisticianul si matematicul secolului XVIII.

And essentially what Bayes did

Ceea ce practic ofera Bayes

was to provide a mathematical way

este un model matematic

using probability theory

in care se utilizeaza teoria probabilitatilor

to characterize, describe,

pentru a caracteriza si descrie

the way that scientists find out about the world.

maniera in care oamenii de stiinta fac descoperiri despre ceea ce ne inconjoara.

So what scientists do

Asadar, ceea ce oamenii de stiinta fac

is they have a hypothesis that they think might be likely to start with.

este sa emita o ipoteza cu care ei considera corespunzator sa inceapa un proiect.

They go out and test it against the evidence.

Dupa care incep sa o testeze si sa aduca probe pro si contra ei.

The evidence makes them change that hypothesis.

Aceste probe ii vor obliga sa modifice ipoteza.

Then they test that new hypothesis

Dupa care se testeaza noua ipoteza din nou,

and so on and so forth.

si asa mai departe.

And what Bayes showed was a mathematical way that you could do that.

Iar ceea ce Bayes ne-a lasat este un model matematic de a face toate aceste lucruri.

And that mathematics is at the core

Si faptul ca matematica este cea care se afla la baza

of the best machine learning programs that we have now.

celor mai potente programe de invatare pe care masinile noastre le au in momentul de fata.

And some 10 years ago,

Si de acum 10 ani

I suggested that babies might be doing the same thing.

eu insinuez ca si bebelusii ar putea fi capabili sa faca acelasi lucru.

So if you want to know what's going on

Asa ca, daca doriti sa aflati ce se ascunde

underneath those beautiful brown eyes,

in spatele acelor frumosi ochi caprui

I think it actually looks something like this.

cred ca aceasta imagine va poate servi.

This is Reverend Bayes's notebook.

Este caietul de notite al reverendului Bayes.

So I think those babies are actually making complicated calculations

Pentru ca eu cred ca acei bebelusi sunt in stare sa faca calcule complicate

with conditional probabilities that they're revising

care implica probabilitati, probabilitati pe care le revizeaza

to figure out how the world works.

si le utilizeaza ca sa-si dea seama cum functioneaza lumea din jor.

All right, now that might seem like an even taller order to actually demonstrate.

Bun, acum ajungem la un lucru care aparent, este si mai dificil de demonstrat.

Because after all, if you ask even grownups about statistics,

Pentru ca, la urma urmelor, daca pui intrebari de statistica oricarui adult

they look extremely stupid.

toti par extrem de stupizi cu raspunsurile lor.

How could it be that children are doing statistics?

Cum este posibil sa avem copii facam statistica?

So to test this we used a machine that we have

Pentru a testa aceasta ipoteza, am folosit o masina

called the Blicket Detector.

numita detectorul Blicket.

This is a box that lights up and plays music

Acesta este o cutie care se aprinde si din care se aude muzica

when you put some things on it and not others.

cand pui deasupra ei niste obiecte in concret.

And using this very simple machine,

Folosind aceasta masina simpla

my lab and others have done dozens of studies

colegii mei de laborator, cat si alti cercetatori, au facut zeci de exerimente

showing just how good babies are

demonstrand cat de buni sunt bebelusii

at learning about the world.

cand vine vorba dea invata despre lumea inconjuratoare.

Let me mention just one

Permiteti-mi sa va arat doar unul dintre aceste experimente

that we did with Tumar Kushner, my student.

pe care l-a facut un stundent de-al meu, Tumar Kushner.

If I showed you this detector,

Daca va arat acest detector

you would be likely to think to begin with

este destul de probabil ca primul lucru la care v-ati gandi

that the way to make the detector go

este ca modul de functionare al detectorului

would be to put a block on top of the detector.

este cu ajutorul unui bloc care se aseaza deasupra.

But actually, this detector

In schimb, acest detector

works in a bit of a strange way.

functioneaza putin diferit.

Because if you wave a block over the top of the detector,

Daca miscati un bloc pe deasupra acestui detector

something you wouldn't ever think of to begin with,

se va intampla ceva la care poate nu v-ati gandi,

the detector will actually activate two out of three times.

si anume ca detectorul se va activa de 2 ori intr-un grup de 3 miscari;

Whereas, if you do the likely thing, put the block on the detector,

in timp ce, daca pui un bloc pe detector

it will only activate two out of six times.

se va activa de 2 ori intr-un grup de 6 miscari.

So the unlikely hypothesis

Ca urmare, la posibilitatea cea mai putin probabila

actually has stronger evidence.

este cea care ofera de fapt o proba mai puternica.

It looks as if the waving

In aparenta, miscarea pe deasupra detectorului

is a more effective strategy than the other strategy.

este o strategie mai efectiva decat oricare alta.

So we did just this; we gave four year-olds this pattern of evidence,

Asa ca asta este ceea ce am facut; le-am oferit unor copii de 4 ani acest model de functionare

and we just asked them to make it go.

si le-am cerut sa faca detectorul sa functioneze.

And sure enough, the four year-olds used the evidence

Si cum era de asteptat, copiii de 4 ani au utilizat acest model

to wave the object on top of the detector.

si au miscat obiectele pe deasupra detectorului.

Now there are two things that are really interesting about this.

Aici avem doua lucruri care sunt foarte interesante.

The first one is, again, remember, these are four year-olds.

Primul este ca, va rog sa retineti, acesti copii au 4 ani.

They're just learning how to count.

Sunt aceiasi care tocmai invata sa numere.

But unconsciously,

Dar, intr-un mod inconstient

they're doing these quite complicated calculations

sunt capabili sa faca calcule destul de complicate

that will give them a conditional probability measure.

care ii capaciteaza cu o masura a probabilitatii conditionale.

And the other interesting thing

Iar cel de-al doilea lucru interesant este ca

is that they're using that evidence

ei se folosesc de aceste experimente

to get to an idea, get to a hypothesis about the world,

pentru a-si face o idee, pentru a crea o ipoteza despre lumea din jurul lor

that seems very unlikely to begin with.

idee care in alte conditii ar fi dificil sa o aiba.

And in studies we've just been doing in my lab, similar studies,

Iar in studii facute la mine in laborator, studii similare celui de mai sus,

we've show that four year-olds are actually better

am putut sa demonstram ca, de fapt, copiii de 4 ani sunt mult mai buni

at finding out an unlikely hypothesis

la a gasi o solutie la o ipoteza improbabila

than adults are when we give them exactly the same task.

in comparatie cu adultii carora li se da aceasi misiune.

So in these circumstances,

Ca urmare, in aceste conditii

the children are using statistics to find out about the world,

copiii folosesc statistica pentru a scoate concluzii despre ceea ce ii inconjoara

but after all, scientists also do experiments,

exact ca si oamenii de stiinta care fac experimente

and we wanted to see if children are doing experiments.

si care doresc sa vada daca copiii fac experimente.

When children do experiments we call it "getting into everything"

Cand ei fac aceste experimente, consideram ca ei "se baga in tot"

or else "playing."

sau "se joaca".

And there's been a bunch of interesting studies recently

Si sunt o groaza de studii recente si interesante

that have shown this playing around

care demonstreaza ca aceasta joaca

is really a kind of experimental research program.

este de fapt un fel de program experimental de cercetare.

Here's one from Cristine Legare's lab.

Aici va prezint unul din laboratorul Cristinei Legare.

What Cristine did was use our Blicket Detectors.

Cristina a utilizat detectoarele Blicket

And what she did was show children

si le-a aratat copiilor

that yellow ones made it go and red ones didn't,

cum cele galbene se pun miscare, in timp ce cele rosii nu functioneaza

and then she showed them an anomaly.

dupa care le-a aratat o anomalie.

And what you'll see

Si ceea ce veti vedea

is that this little boy will go through five hypotheses

este un copil care va prezenta 5 ipoteze

in the space of two minutes.

pe parcursul unor 2 minute.

(Video) Boy: How about this?

Baietelul: Si asa?

Same as the other side.

La fel ca in partea cealalta.

Alison Gopnik: Okay, so his first hypothesis has just been falsified.

Alison: OK, prima ipoteza a fost expusa.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

Boy: This one lighted up, and this one nothing.

Baietelul: Asta se aprinde, dar asta nu face nimic.

AG: Okay, he's got his experimental notebook out.

AG: OK, deci a venit cu caitelul de notite.

Boy: What's making this light up.

Baietelul: Cum face sa se aprinda?

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

I don't know.

Nu stiu,

AG: Every scientist will recognize that expression of despair.

AG:Oricare om de stiinta recunoaste aceasta fata de disperare.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

Boy: Oh, it's because this needs to be like this,

Baitelul: Aaa, cred ca e pentru ca e nevoie sa se puna asa,

and this needs to be like this.

si asta asa.

AG: Okay, hypothesis two.

AG. OK, ipoteza numarul 2.

Boy: That's why.

Baietelul: De asta.

Oh.

Oh.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

AG: Now this is his next idea.

AG:Acum va prezenta urmatoarea idee.

He told the experimenter to do this,

I-a spus cercetatorului sa faca asta,

to try putting it out onto the other location.

sa incerce sa o aseze in alt loc.

Not working either.

Dar nici asa nu functioneaza.

Boy: Oh, because the light goes only to here,

Baietelul: Aa, pentru ca lumina se aprinde doar aici

not here.

si aici nu.

Oh, the bottom of this box

Aa, prin fundul cutiei

has electricity in here,

trece curent

but this doesn't have electricity.

dar prin asta nu ai curent.

AG: Okay, that's a fourth hypothesis.

AG: OK, a patra ipoteza.

Boy: It's lighting up.

Baitetelul: Se aprinde.

So when you put four.

Deci cand ai 4.

So you put four on this one to make it light up

Deci pui 4 aici deasupra ca sa se aprinda

and two on this one to make it light up.

si 2 pe astalalta ca sa se aprinda.

AG: Okay,there's his fifth hypothesis.

AG: OK, deci a cincea ipoteza.

Now that is a particularly --

Acest copil este deosebit

that is a particularly adorable and articulate little boy,

un baietel deosebit de adorabil si coerent,

but what Cristine discovered is this is actually quite typical.

dar Cristina a descoperit ca, de fapt, ai multi copii de genul acesta.

If you look at the way children play, when you ask them to explain something,

Daca ii observi pe copii in timp ce se joaca, si le ceri sa-ti explice ceva

what they really do is do a series of experiments.

ceea ce ei fac de fapt este sa initieze o serie de experimente.

This is actually pretty typical of four year-olds.

Aceasta atitudine este destul de obisnuita intre copiii de 4 ani.

Well, what's it like to be this kind of creature?

Deci, cum e sa fi o astfel de fiinta?

What's it like to be one of these brilliant butterflies

Cum e sa fi unul din acesti fluturi extraordinari

who can test five hypotheses in two minutes?

care emit 5 ipoteze in 2 minute?

Well, if you go back to those psychologists and philosophers,

Daca ne intoarcem la psihologi si la filozofi

a lot of them have said

vedem ca majoritatea au sustinut

that babies and young children were barely conscious

ca bebelusii si copii mici sunt constienti intr-o foarte mica masura

if they were conscious at all.

sau chiar deloc.

And I think just the opposite is true.

Iar eu cred ca de fapt este exact invers.

I think babies and children are actually more conscious than we are as adults.

Sunt convinsa ca bebelusii si copii mici sunt de fapt mult mai constienti decat adultii.

Now here's what we know about how adult consciousness works.

Pentru ca asta este ceea ce stim despre felul in care functioneaza constiinta in adulti.

And adults' attention and consciousness

Atentia si constiinta in adulti

look kind of like a spotlight.

e ca un fel de punct luminos.

So what happens for adults

Adultii decid,

is we decide that something's relevant or important,

in cazul in care ceva este relevant sau important,

we should pay attention to it.

ca ar trebui sa ii dam atentie.

Our consciousness of that thing that we're attending to

Faptul ca suntem constienti de acel lucru caruia ii dam atentie

becomes extremely bright and vivid,

se transforma intr-o zona extrem de luminoasa si vie

and everything else sort of goes dark.

in timp ce restul se intuneca.

And we even know something about the way the brain does this.

Si stim cate ceva despre cum creierul face toate aceste lucruri.

So what happens when we pay attention

Deci, cand noi acordam atentie,

is that the prefrontal cortex, the sort of executive part of our brains,

vorbim de cortexul prefrontal, care este un fel de parte executiva a creierului nostru,

sends a signal

care trimite un semnal

that makes a little part of our brain much more flexible,

si care ajuta o mica parte a creierului sa devina mult mai flexibila,

more plastic, better at learning,

mai plastica, mai predispusa la a invata,

and shuts down activity

in timp ce blocheaza

in all the rest of our brains.

toata activitatea din restul creierului.

So we have a very focused, purpose-driven kind of attention.

Ca urmare, dispunem de un fel de atentie foarte localizata pe motivele noastre.

If we look at babies and young children,

Daca ne uitam la bebelusi si la copiii mici

we see something very different.

vedem cu totul altceva.

I think babies and young children

Cred ca bebelusii si copiii mici

seem to have more of a lantern of consciousness

au mai degraba un evantai de constiinta

than a spotlight of consciousness.

decat un punct fix al constiintei.

So babies and young children are very bad

Ca urmare sunt foarte stangaci

at narrowing down to just one thing.

cand vine vorba sa se concentreze asupra unui singur lucru.

But they're very good at taking in lots of information

Dar sunt foarte buni la a folosi, in acelasi timp, o multime de informatii

from lots of different sources at once.

luate dintr-o multime de surse diferente.

And if you actually look in their brains,

Si daca ne uitam inauntru creierului lor

you see that they're flooded with these neurotransmitters

se pot observa multimea neurotransmitatorilor,

that are really good at inducing learning and plasticity,

-care au un cuvant de spus in procesul de inductie a plasticitatii si invatarii,-

and the inhibitory parts haven't come on yet.

si lipsa inhibitorilor care inca nu exista.

So when we say that babies and young children

Asa ca, atunci cand se spune ca bebelusii si copiii mici

are bad at paying attention,

nu sunt atenti,

what we really mean is that they're bad at not paying attention.

ceea ce vrem de fapt sa spunem este ca atentia lor nu este focalizata,

So they're bad at getting rid

ca nu sunt capabili sa de descotoroseasca de

of all the interesting things that could tell them something

toate acele lucruri interesante care ar putea sa insemne ceva pentru ei

and just looking at the thing that's important.

si pur si simplu sa se concentreze doar la un lucru important in acel moment.

That's the kind of attention, the kind of consciousness,

Acesta este tipul de atentie, tipul de constiinta

that we might expect

pe care l-am astepta

from those butterflies who are designed to learn.

de la acesti fluturasii care sunt programati sa invete.

Well if we want to think about a way

Dar daca noi cautam o cale

of getting a taste of that kind of baby consciousness as adults,

prin care sa experimentam, ca adulti, constiinta copiiilor mici,

I think the best thing is think about cases

cred ca cel mai bun lucru ar fi

where we're put in a new situation that we've never been in before --

sa ne imaginam in situatii noi, in care nu ne-am mai aflat pana atunci,

when we fall in love with someone new,

ca de exemplu ca atunci cand ne indragostim de cineva necunoscut

or when we're in a new city for the first time.

sau cand ne aflam intr-un oras nou pentru prima data.

And what happens then is not that our consciousness contracts,

Pentru ca, in astfel de situatii, constiinta noastra nu se contracta,

it expands,

se dilata,

so that those three days in Paris

de aceea acele 3 zile in Paris

seem to be more full of consciousness and experience

par sa fie mai pline de viata si experiente

than all the months of being

ca toate lunile in care

a walking, talking, faculty meeting-attending zombie back home.

eram niste zombi care se duc la facultate, vorbesc, participa la reuniuni si se intorc acasa.

And by the way, that coffee,

Si apropo, cafeaua aia,

that wonderful coffee you've been drinking downstairs,

cafeaua extraordinar de buna pe care ati baut-o jos in hol

actually mimics the effect

de fapt imita efectul

of those baby neurotransmitters.

acelor neurotransmitatori din creierul bebelusilor.

So what's it like to be a baby?

Deci, cum e sa fi un bebelus?

It's like being in love

E ca atunci cand esti indragostit,

in Paris for the first time

in Paris, pentru prima data,

after you've had three double-espressos.

dupa ce-ai baut trei cafele mari.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

That's a fantastic way to be,

Este un fel fantastic de a exista

but it does tend to leave you waking up crying at three o'clock in the morning.

care, intr-adevar, tinde sa te faca sa te trezesti plangand la trei dimineata.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

Now it's good to be a grownup.

E bine sa fi si adult.

I don't want to say too much about how wonderful babies are.

Nu vreau sa fac prea multa reclama de cat e de bine sa fii bebelus.

It's good to be a grownup.

E bine sa fi adult.

We can do things like tie our shoelaces and cross the street by ourselves.

Putem sa facem singuri chestii de genul: sa ne facem funda la siret si sa trecem singuri strada.

And it makes sense that we put a lot of effort

Si e logic ca investim o groaza de efort

into making babies think like adults do.

ca sa-i facem pe bebelusi sa gandeasca ca si adultii.

But if what we want is to be like those butterflies,

Dar, daca dorim sa fim ca acesti fluturasi,

to have open-mindedness, open learning,

sa fim deschisi la minte, deschisi la a invata,

imagination, creativity, innovation,

sa avem imaginatie, sa fim creativi si inovatori

maybe at least some of the time

probabil, cel putin din cand in cand,

we should be getting the adults

ar trebui sa fim acei adulti

to start thinking more like children.

care sa inceapa sa gandeasca la fel ca si copilasii.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)