If you wanted to design a robot that could learn as well as it possibly could, you might end up with something that looked a lot like a 3-year-old. Alison Gopnik designendlearn Change image and share on social
Animals are certainly more sophisticated than we used to think. And we shouldn't lump together animals as a group. Crows and chimps and dogs are all highly intelligent in very different ways. Alison Gopnik animalchimpcrow Change image and share on social
The brain is highly structured, but it is also extremely flexible. It's not a blank slate, but it isn't written in stone, either. Alison Gopnik blankbrainextremely Change image and share on social
Culture is our nature, and the ability to learn and change is our most important and fundamental instinct. Alison Gopnik abilitychangeculture Change image and share on social
We have lots of evidence that putting investments in early childhood education, even evidence from very hard-nosed economists, is one of the very best investments that the society can possibly make. And yet we still don't have public support for things like preschools. Alison Gopnik childhoodearlyeconomist share on social
Developmental scientists like me explore the basic science of learning by designing controlled experiments. Alison Gopnik basiccontroldesign Change image and share on social
Imagine if baseball were taught the way science is taught in most inner-city schools. Schoolchildren would get lectures about the history of the World Series. High school students would occasionally reproduce famous plays of the past. Nobody would get in the game themselves until graduate school. Alison Gopnik baseballcityfamous share on social
The best scientific way to discover if one factor influences another is to do a controlled experiment. Alison Gopnik controldiscoverexperiment Change image and share on social
What makes knowledge automatic is what gets you to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice. Alison Gopnik automaticcarnegiehall Change image and share on social
The radio was an improvement on the telegraph but it didn't have the same exponential, transformative effect. Alison Gopnik effectexponentialimprovement Change image and share on social