Reading reflection on "What every baby knows"

• Comment on
1. the meaning of "inferential learning mechanisms"
2. the changes that occur over the first three years of life (instinctual ability to "distinguish human faces and voices", "understanding that people's actions, emotions and perceptions can be directed at a separate external world", and "understanding that people have different beliefs")
3. the assumptions and implications of the article quote, "Babies are like little scientists continually overthrowing theories that no longer fit the evidence."

1. Inferential learning mechanisms are the initial theories that newborn babies have when they first come into the world. These inferential learning mechanisms change those initial ideas with the knowledge that they gain over the first three years of their lives.
2. With in the first three years of life, babies are able to develop the ability to recognize certain people's faces and voices and match that face or voice to a name. In addition, they are also able to develop their own opinions about people and the world around them. Within these first few years, they are constantly learning and adapting. To begin with, over time, babies become able to tell who their mothers and fathers are by seeing a face or by hearing a voice. This is due to the fact that most young children spend an excessive amount of time with their parents within the first three years of their lives. Because of this, babies adapt and learn who they can trust and who they feel safe with based on the amount of time that they spend with that person, and how that person treats them. For example, mothers and fathers are very caring, nurturing, and kind in the eyes of their babies. Therefore, they are more opt to trust their parents and to develop positive opinions about them. However, this is also true for the opposite situation. If a baby is placed in a harsher environment for a long period of time, in which people are mean to them, they are opt to develop negative thoughts and opinions about them. This brings me to my next point; babies develop opinions based on their situations and the people/world around them. For example, as I said before, if a young child, under the age of three, goes to a park and falls down and hurts themselves, the child is most likely going to develop a negative opinion about that park because they fell down and hurt themselves. Now, on the other hand, if a child were to go to a park and played a lot, and got ice cream, they are going to develop a positive opinion about that particular park.
3. This description about babies is actually quite accurate. Within the first three years of their lives, babies are constantly learning and constantly developing new ideas and new opinions about the world. As they continue to grow and to learn, these ideas an opinions change. This is because babies gather new evidence and new knowledge about the world that helps them understand how things work. Therefore, in a way, babies are very similar to scientists because they are constantly overthrowing theories that no longer fit the evidence. The only difference is that babies are developing theories and opinions about the world and about people around them, while scientists are developing theories about science. 

Thin Slices

11-5-12

What is meant by "reading thin slices"?

"Reading thin slices" is basically saying how sometimes too much pressure is placed on appearances that individuals are blind to everything else. For example, Warren Harding was thought of as a very attractive man. Most people thought that he should become president because, "he looked like he would make a good president". Basically, people only take a quick glance at something and jump to conclusions instead of looking more deeply below the surface.

Explain intuitive expertise.

Intuitive expertise is basically how people rely on their "gut feelings" or their intuition to make decisions and to develop opinions. Intuitive Expertise can sometimes be a good thing, but can also be a bad thing. For example, if you are out on the street at night and a group of tall dark men start walking toward you, you are most likely going to be scared. Therefore, you are most likely to rely on you intuitive expertise, and you are going to judge the situation as a dangerous one, and you are going to run away to protect yourself. However, sometimes intuitive expertise can get you into more trouble that you started with. For example, President Bush had the "gut feeling" or the intuitive expertise that the US needed to go to war with Iraq. He felt in his gut that something was wrong and that we needed to do something about it. However, his intuitive expertise turned out to be incorrect, and ended up starting a war that was not even necessary in the first place. In conclusion, intuitive expertise can be a good tool to to help you, but you must use is carefully and wisely.

What are the perils of relying on intuition?

There are several perils of relying on intuition. Sometimes, you can develope the intutiion that something is true/ false or that something is wrong/ alright, and you end up being wrong. Sometimes, when you rely on your intuition, you jump to conclusions and therefore, you might jump to the wrong conclusion. Relying on intuition can destroy a friendship, ruin a career, and much more. It is better to thinnk things through before developing an opinion.

Is intuition a fair justification for mistakes made in decision-making? Give reasons and examples to support your answer
Yes, intuition is a fair justification for mistakes that are made in decision-making. Sometimes, when you rely on your intuition and you jump to the wrong clonclusions about something or about someone, and therefore when it comes time to make decisions about something, you make mistakes because you jumped to the wrong conclusions at the start. For example, if you meet someone for the first time, and your intuition tells you that this person is bad news, when it comes time for you to make a decision on what you want to do about the person, you might make a mistake and make the wrong decision.