1 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, it's Mango here, and I want to tell 2 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: you about another podcast I think you're going to enjoy 3 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: so much. It's called Candy Is Dandy, the world's only 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: podcast devote entirely to reviewing candy. Each episode features a 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: deep dive into a different candy with history, games, taste tests, 6 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: hilarious guests, and the kind of super nerdy facts we 7 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: at Part Time Genius appreciate so much, like where the 8 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: name Snickers comes from and why butterfingers has a link 9 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: to the atomic bomb. It is smart, it is funny. 10 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: It makes me nostalgic for all kinds of treats I 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: remember from my very own childhood. So I really hope 12 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: you'll check it out. Find Candy Is Dandy, the candy 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: review podcast wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to 14 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. Guess what, Gabe, 15 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: what's that? 16 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 2: Mango? 17 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: Do you know that babies aren't afraid of heights until 18 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: after they've started crawling? 19 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 2: Really, so you could go hang gliding with a three 20 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 2: month old and they wouldn't even bat. 21 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: An eye apparently. I mean, there are lots of reasons 22 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: why you don't want to go hang gliding with a 23 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: three month old, but your baby's fear of heights isn't 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: one of them. According to researchers, babies only start to 25 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: fear heights around nine months or so, typically when they 26 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: crawl to the edge of a staircase for the first time, 27 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: or when they're peeking over the side at their changing 28 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: table or something like that. But up until that point, 29 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: a baby might express interest in a ledge or think 30 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: it's amusing, you're curious, but they won't actually be scared of. 31 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 2: It, which is like very scary when you think about it. 32 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 2: But I am curious though, Like why would learning to 33 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 2: crawl be you know, this big game changer for all 34 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: of this, Like why is that what makes babies afraid 35 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 2: of heights? 36 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: Well, according to new scientists, it's because of how our 37 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: brains change when we first start to move ourselves around 38 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: in different spaces. So when that happens, we suddenly begin 39 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: to process information that we never paid attention to before, 40 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: like what we see in the periphery and how that 41 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: visual information can be used to keep ourselves steady and balanced. 42 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: So when a baby starts moving around, suddenly they're learning 43 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: how to navigate a visual world made of solid, steady surfaces. 44 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: In contrast, the prospect of crawling out into thin air 45 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: doesn't really make any sense, and the result is that 46 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,119 Speaker 1: a drop off now becomes a very scary thing to them. 47 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: But that's just one of the recent developments of baby 48 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: science that I learned about this week. And I know 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: we've both got a ton we're excited to share about babies, 50 00:02:47,440 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: So let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to 51 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: part time Genius. I am mongishit together, and since Will 52 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: is away this week, I am joined by our good 53 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: pal Gabe Lucier. And on the other side of that 54 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: soundproof glass wearing a shirt that says baby talk will 55 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: get You Nowhere, that's our friend and producer Dylan Pagan. 56 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: And I know he's just wearing the shirt to stay 57 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: on theme with today's show, but it does leave me 58 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: with a few questions. 59 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you mean, like, why do they make that 60 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 2: shirt in adult sizes? 61 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: Exactly? That is the first of many questions I have. 62 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 2: All Right, well, I hate to be like T shirt police, 63 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 2: but the thing about that shirt, baby talk will get 64 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 2: you Nowhere, the sentiment is actually false, Like there's good 65 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 2: reason to think that speaking to your baby in a 66 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 2: cutees voice isn't as silly as it sounds, and in fact, 67 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 2: it may even help with length which learning, or at 68 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 2: least that's the takeaway I got from this twenty seventeen 69 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 2: study I read this week from the Princeton University Baby Lab, 70 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 2: which is a real thing. Apparently, the researchers there found 71 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 2: that women who spoke a wide array of ten different 72 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 2: languages all used roughly the same timber when speaking to 73 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 2: infants in a cutesy baby voice. And so the implication 74 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 2: is that baby talk might be a kind of universal communication, 75 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 2: one that mothers and fathers both used to connect with 76 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 2: their babies, and it's also a way to encourage them to, 77 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 2: you know, try speaking for themselves. 78 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: That is really interesting because I feel like we also 79 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: use the same sing songy speech patterns when we're talking 80 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: to dogs or cats or whatever, and I wonder like, 81 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: are we unconsciously trying to teach them to speak as well. 82 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,039 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it could be. I would love that. 83 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 2: But the other option I read about is that we 84 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 2: use baby talk anytime we feel like we're speaking to 85 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 2: someone who doesn't know our language. So babies doll people 86 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 2: from a different country. If we think someone can't understand us, 87 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 2: we instinctively turn on the baby talk. 88 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,480 Speaker 1: Oh that's really interesting and it makes you wonder if 89 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: it actually works, Like, do dogs respond better to baby 90 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: talk than to our normal voices? 91 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's funny because even though we use baby talk 92 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 2: for animals of all ages, the study I read found 93 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 2: that puppies were the only ones that responded more strongly 94 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 2: to the use of baby talk the adult dogs in 95 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 2: the study. They had like the same level of response 96 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 2: no matter how their owners talked. 97 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: So, just to recap, Dylan's baby talk will get you 98 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: know where shirt is completely false from the perspective of babies, humans, 99 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: and dogs alike, but accurate when applied to adults of 100 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: either species. Do I have that right? 101 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 2: Yeah? I think that's the gist of it for anyone 102 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 2: keeping track. 103 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I am glad we cleared it up. And when 104 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: you think about it, it's kind of a nice reminder 105 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: of just how strange and new everything in the world 106 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: must seem to a baby, because those early years are 107 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: almost nothing but constant learning, figuring out how to move 108 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: their bodies, how to engage with objects and people, how 109 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,919 Speaker 1: to understand and use language, and you know, it seems 110 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: so basic to us as adults, but there's a lot 111 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: of complexity to these processes once you start to break 112 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: them down. And that's really what we're doing today. We 113 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: are exploring how babies perceive the world and how they're 114 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: affected by it. 115 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. And since we started with baby talk, I 116 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 2: actually want to take a minute to look at the 117 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 2: other side of that, which is the way that babies 118 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 2: talk to us. So most people tend to think that 119 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 2: when babies start talking, they're just imitating adults that they've overheard, 120 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 2: but it isn't exactly one to one. Like babies talk 121 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 2: in one word sentences. They leave out word endings and 122 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 2: function words like pronouns and conjunctions, So they might be 123 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 2: copying the words they've heard, but they definitely aren't using 124 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 2: them to talk the way that adults do. 125 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: I love that you're just picking on babies. 126 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 2: Right now, I'm doing. 127 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure they don't have the option to speak 128 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: like adults because you know, word combination, it's gonna be tricky, 129 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: and I'm assuming their brains just aren't ready for that 130 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: kind of complexity. 131 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, No, that's right, And you're actually describing something 132 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 2: that neuroscientists call the mental developmental hypothesis, and that's basically 133 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 2: the idea that one year old speak in single words 134 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 2: and short phrases because their brains aren't yet equipped for 135 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 2: adult speech. But there's another theory, a competing theory called 136 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 2: the stages of language hypothesis, and that one suggests that 137 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 2: children might learn to speak in stages, just as they 138 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 2: do with walking. So in this scenario, speaking in full 139 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 2: sentences has more to do with how many words a 140 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 2: child knows rather than you know, how developed their brain is. 141 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: That's pretty interesting, like you build language almost the same 142 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: way you build any other physical skill. But is there 143 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: a way to test which of these theories is correct? 144 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, So there was actually a study on this that 145 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 2: came out of Harvard University way back in two thousand 146 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 2: and nine, and the researchers looked at the language development 147 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 2: of a group of international adoptees. So it was twenty 148 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 2: seven children adopted from China between the ages of two 149 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 2: and five, and those kids were chosen because you know, 150 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 2: they would be learning English at an older age than 151 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 2: most native speakers. So if the mental developmental hypothesis is true, 152 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 2: then those kids would have had an easier time learning 153 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 2: to speak fluent English since their brains were, you know, 154 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 2: already so much more developed than you know, that of 155 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 2: a native infant. 156 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: And so did they have an easier time. 157 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 2: Nope. In the end, the adoptees followed the exact same 158 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 2: track of language development as American born babies, just at 159 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 2: a faster rate. So despite their extra brain power, they 160 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 2: still started with one word sentences and then moved on 161 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 2: to short phrases you know, with missing words and so on. 162 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,439 Speaker 2: And there was also one other important point of overlap 163 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 2: between the adoptees' experience and that of American born babies, 164 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 2: and that's that both groups began combining words into longer 165 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 2: sentences when their vocabularies reached the same sizes. And that 166 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 2: suggests that it's really how many words you know that matters, 167 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 2: not how old you are or how developed your brain is. 168 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: That's fascinating. So, speaking of baby vocabulary, did you know 169 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: that the type of words a baby learns to speak 170 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: first largely depend on which language that they're learning. For instance, 171 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: this is really crazy to me. English speaking babies tend 172 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 1: to learn a bunch of nouns first. While Mandarin speaking 173 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: babies typically start with verbs. 174 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 2: Oh that is cool. So is that just like it 175 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 2: comes down to how the different languages are structured. 176 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: Mm hmm, exactly. So Mandarin is a much more verb 177 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 1: focused language than English. Is, like you can frequently leave 178 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: out the subject of a sentence entirely and just let 179 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: the verb do all the work. And of course that's 180 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: seldom the case in English. But I was reading about 181 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: this in Scientific American and the author Meredith Knight had 182 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 1: this nice breakdown of these different approaches to language. She writes, quote, 183 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: English speaking parents tend to use big, one size fits 184 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: all verbs as they emphasize nouns cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, 185 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: and scooters. They all simply go. Mandarin speakers do the opposite. 186 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: They use catch all nouns such as vehicle, but describe 187 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: action driving, riding, sitting on, pushing with very specific words, 188 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: which you know is something that just never would have 189 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: occurred to me. 190 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, me either. It actually makes me wonder you 191 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 2: know how deep those differences go, Like is it just 192 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 2: a linguistic thing, or does the way you talk about 193 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 2: the world affect, you know, the way you see it too? 194 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: I could see making the case for the example I 195 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: just gave, like American culture puts such an emphasis on 196 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: the individual, and that could be a reflection of our 197 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: languages focus on nouns and subjects or vice versa. And 198 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: while I'm obviously not an expert on Asian culture, it 199 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,839 Speaker 1: does seem to be more community minded, like the action 200 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: or outcome is what counts rather than the person behind it. 201 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: And that kind of outlook seems pretty in line with 202 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: how verb centric Mandarin is. 203 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, I could see that. And so there's clearly 204 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 2: some kind of connection between how we speak and how 205 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 2: we see the world. But one thing I learned this 206 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 2: week that I never would have suspected is that there's 207 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 2: also a connection between how we hear and how we 208 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 2: move our tongues. Have you heard this? 209 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: I mean, I know snakes can smell with their tongues, 210 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: but I've never heard about anything, you know, doing with babies, 211 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: and many hearing with their fair enough. 212 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 2: So the idea is that, you know, the way we 213 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 2: perceive speech is directly tied to the areas of the 214 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 2: brain that control mouth movements. And if that's the case, 215 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 2: then we don't understand speech simply because we hear it, 216 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 2: but because we recognize the mouth movements that produce the sounds, 217 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 2: we know. This was all confirmed by a study back 218 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen. It was headed by a cognitive scientist 219 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:51,920 Speaker 2: named Alison Bruder at the University of British Columbia, and 220 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 2: what she did was she gathered a group of twenty 221 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 2: four six month old babies from different cultures, none of 222 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 2: whom had started talking yet, and then she put the 223 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 2: babies in front of a screen displaying a checkerboard pattern 224 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 2: and played them two recordings, an English D sound repeated 225 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 2: several times and a Hindi D sound played only once 226 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 2: at a time. And if you haven't heard the Hindi 227 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 2: D sound before, I'm guessing you have. The main thing 228 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,959 Speaker 2: to know is that it's made by moving the tongue 229 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 2: farther back on the palette than you would for the 230 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 2: English D sound. And so the idea was that if 231 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 2: the babies could tell the difference between the two sounds, 232 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 2: then they would pay closer attention to the screen whenever 233 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,319 Speaker 2: the sounds alternated from one to the other. And when 234 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 2: you know, that's exactly what happened. I tracking revealed that 235 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 2: regardless of cultural background, the babies all stared at the 236 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 2: screen longer when the sound switched. 237 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: First of all, I do know the Hindi alphabet, and 238 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: it's amazing because it's organized in a way where it 239 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 1: moves from the front of your mouth to the back 240 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: of your mouth for each letter, and so like you 241 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: can as the words get harder, you can hear how 242 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,319 Speaker 1: like a D in Hindi is is much much stronger 243 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 1: than American DA, I guess. But all of this is 244 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: really fascinating to me. Like the idea that the babies 245 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: can track these screens or they're the scientists are using 246 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: eye tracking to figure out what they're paying attention to, 247 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: is really fascinating. Yeah, but what does any of that 248 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 1: have to do with, like tongue movement as you were 249 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 1: talking about before. 250 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, so nothing yet. But you know, after that 251 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 2: initial round of testing, Bruder tried something different. So she 252 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,440 Speaker 2: gave each of the babies a teething toy that blocked 253 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,680 Speaker 2: the movement of their tongue, and then she played the 254 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 2: recordings again and this time with you know, with the 255 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,439 Speaker 2: teethers in place, the babies didn't seem to notice the 256 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 2: difference in sounds at all. Again, this is like, according 257 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 2: to the eye tracking, so so Bruder tried one last test. 258 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 2: She replaced the tongue blocking teethers with ones that did 259 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 2: not impede the tongue's movement, and you know, when you 260 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,200 Speaker 2: know it, the babies once again showed signs that they 261 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,319 Speaker 2: understood the difference in d sounds. 262 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: So not only were they using their tongues to mark 263 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,440 Speaker 1: the difference between the sounds, they were doing this before 264 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: they even knew how to speak themselves. 265 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 2: Right, It's wild, isn't it. And and the thing is, like, 266 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 2: this isn't something we stop doing once we grow up. 267 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 2: Like there was one study out of Texas a few 268 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 2: years back where researchers had adult Native English speakers try 269 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 2: to pronounce a made up sound, you know, one that 270 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 2: doesn't belong to any language. And so first the participants 271 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 2: were played the sound and asked to copy it. Then 272 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 2: they were asked to do this again, but on that 273 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 2: second time, they were shown real time images of the 274 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 2: position of their tongue as they tried to pronounce the sound, 275 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 2: And amazingly, the participants were much more likely to make 276 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 2: the sound correctly once they had been given that you know, 277 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 2: visual feedback. 278 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: So did those participants not have pacifiers as kids. Is 279 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: that why they could learn like that? There would need to. 280 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 2: Be a lot more research before we can say there's 281 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 2: like a real link between using a teether and a 282 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 2: delay in language learning. And you know, according to Bruderer quote, 283 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 2: at this point, I don't think that these data suggests 284 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 2: parents should be taking away teethers or soothers. The majority 285 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 2: of infants are chewing on something semi regularly most of 286 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: the day, and most of these infants do go on 287 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 2: to develop speech normally. 288 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: Oh good, because I remember what a relief it was 289 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: to pop a pass fire in my kid's mouths, Like 290 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 1: we were instantly happier in those moments. But now that 291 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: we've covered how babies learn language, let's take a step 292 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: back and talk a little bit about brain development. But 293 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: before we do, we've got to take a quick break. 294 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: You're listening to part Time Genius and we're talking about 295 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: the latest signs on babies, all right, Gabe. So I 296 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,160 Speaker 1: mentioned up front how babies are learning pretty much NonStop 297 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: for the first few years of their lives, and I 298 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: actually have a factor to back that up. According to research, 299 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: during the first three years of a child's life, their 300 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: brains grow at a faster rate than any other body part. 301 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 1: In fact, roughly sixty percent of a baby's metabolic energy 302 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: sixty percent is dedicated just to brain growth, compared to 303 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: a paltry twenty five percent that the adult brain uses. 304 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: So and in the first ninety days alone, a baby's 305 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: brain will more than double its volume, growing to write, 306 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: around fifty five percent of its final size. Isn't that insane? 307 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's amazing, But it also seems a little weird, 308 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 2: doesn't it, Like why are we all born with such 309 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 2: underdeveloped brains? Why it grows so much? 310 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: One idea is that humans are social animals by nature, 311 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: so it makes more sense for our brains to wire 312 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: themselves in the presence of the people who will ultimately 313 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: raise us. Right, But if you ask me, it's mostly 314 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: out of consideration for our mothers, because it takes a 315 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: big head to hold a fully developed brain, and the 316 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: human birth canal has its limits. 317 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,159 Speaker 2: That's a good point. I hadn't thought of that, but 318 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 2: you're absolutely right. And besides, that whole setup does seem 319 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 2: to be working well enough for us. Like you know, 320 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 2: I was reading this study where researchers found that seven 321 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,159 Speaker 2: month old babies already show activity in the areas of 322 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 2: the brain associated with the physical aspects of speech, like 323 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 2: the tongue movements I mentioned earlier. So a baby's brain 324 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 2: is already laying the groundwork for speech long before they 325 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 2: say their first word. 326 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: Which is amazing. And that's not the only thing that 327 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:35,400 Speaker 1: babies can do before they've even learned to talk. According 328 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: to a study published in twenty eighteen, pre verbal babies 329 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: can also think logically and even make rational deductions with 330 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: wills astounding to me. The researchers took a group of 331 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: babies between twelve and nineteen months and they had them 332 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: repeatedly inspect a pair of objects. So there was a 333 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: toy dinosaur and a flower. And next the objects were 334 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: placed behind black wall and the babies were shown in 335 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: animation of a cup scooping up the dinosaur. After that, 336 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,880 Speaker 1: the wall was taken away, and what do you think 337 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: was there? 338 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,679 Speaker 2: The flower? Hopefully I can get this right. 339 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: Very good. All right, that's what you'd expect. But here's 340 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: the thing. The flower was only there half of the time. 341 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 1: In the other cases, the wall would be removed and 342 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,920 Speaker 1: a second dinosaur toy would be sitting there. And even 343 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: though the babies couldn't explain what was wrong and words, 344 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: they could definitely tell something was off about that second dinosaur. 345 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: So once again, the researchers were able to use eye 346 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: tracking to show that the infants stared a good deal 347 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: longer when the unexpected object appeared behind the wall, as 348 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: if they were confused by it. And not only that, 349 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: their pupils also dilated when they saw these strange outcomes. 350 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,360 Speaker 1: And that's actually something that happens to adults when we're 351 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: working through logic problems, which is something I'd never heard before. 352 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:55,479 Speaker 1: And yeah, it's really amazing. 353 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,879 Speaker 2: That's really neat. I'm kind of impressed babies, But also like, 354 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 2: imagine how much fun those researchers had just confusing the 355 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 2: heck out of a bunch of babies. 356 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: Like, I know, the idea of like doing all this 357 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: mischief and a baby lap seems really fun in. 358 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 2: The great it's a great job. Yeah. And you know, 359 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 2: another factor that's really important though in development is of 360 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 2: course sleep, because just like adults, a baby's brain consolidates 361 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 2: memories and you know, cements them into knowledge while they're sleeping. 362 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 2: And according to a twenty seventeen study out of Germany 363 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 2: that process starts super early on, at around six to 364 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:31,880 Speaker 2: eight months, when babies, you know, first begin to learn 365 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 2: that words have meaning and aren't just random noises. And 366 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 2: what's even more incredible is that the length of the 367 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 2: nap may determine how strongly a memory is formed. 368 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: That's crazy, And so how do you even measure something 369 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:47,880 Speaker 1: like that, like the strength of a memory? 370 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,639 Speaker 2: Yeah right, it's pretty abstract, But you know, if you're 371 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 2: a German researcher, you do it by making up a 372 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 2: bunch of nonsense words like Zeuser's and baffles. 373 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: That's what they did, which sounds very doctor seuss that 374 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: please explain more. 375 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:06,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, let me start over. So the researchers 376 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 2: wanted to test the effect of a mid day nap 377 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 2: and you know, see what effect it had on a 378 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 2: baby's recall. So to do this fairly, they had to 379 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 2: be sure to test them with words they couldn't have 380 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,160 Speaker 2: already known. So that's why they came up with Zeussers 381 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,959 Speaker 2: and Boffels. Those were the made up names that they 382 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 2: assigned to a pair of toy like objects that the 383 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,639 Speaker 2: kids had never seen before that day. So at first 384 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,239 Speaker 2: the kids couldn't tell which objects should be called by 385 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 2: which name, But then after a thirty minute nap, they 386 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:38,600 Speaker 2: could easily distinguish a zeuser from a baffle. And after 387 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 2: a fifty minute nap, something even more amazing happened. The 388 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 2: researchers spotted a brain pattern in their young test subjects 389 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,200 Speaker 2: that had only ever been seen in older children and adults. 390 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 2: It's called the N four hundred component, and it's a 391 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 2: clear sign that the infants had created a solid mental 392 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 2: link between the words and the objects they represented. Isn't 393 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 2: that impress That is incredible. 394 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: So, while we are on the subject of sleep, I 395 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: came across a pair of recent studies that finally offered 396 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: an answer to the angel question of why rocking a 397 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: baby helps them fall asleep. 398 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 2: See, I didn't even know that was something people were 399 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,879 Speaker 2: like asking. I just think your parents were so happy 400 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 2: that rocking work that nobody stopped to question it. And why. 401 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, for any listeners who are curious, the answer 402 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: is pretty interesting. But I agree with you give I 403 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: feel like any solution. I remember my friend used to 404 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 1: keep a vacuum cleaner running next to his baby in Abacina. 405 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: Like anything you can do to get the kids to sleep, 406 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: rule you will take but human brains likely evolved their 407 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 1: responses to rocking as a way to attain health benefits 408 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:49,119 Speaker 1: associated with deep sleep, and that includes things like better 409 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,120 Speaker 1: long term memory and we don't lose this strait as 410 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 1: we age either, which is fascinating. Being rocked to sleep 411 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: has also been found to have benefits for adults. In 412 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: one of the recent sty adults who slept in a 413 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: slowly rocking bed fell asleep faster and maintained their deep 414 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: sleep for a longer period of time. They also reached 415 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: non rim sleep faster and most impressible, the rockers also 416 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: tripled their recall on memory tests. Isn't that stunning? And 417 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,400 Speaker 1: this is largely because their brain waves have been synchronized 418 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 1: by all the rocking, which in turn made it easier 419 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: for their brains to process and store new memories. 420 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,440 Speaker 2: You know, I never would have guessed to take away 421 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 2: from today's show would be to invest in an adult 422 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 2: sized rocking bed, But I mean, here we are, I'm good, I'm. 423 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: Looking, I know, and I guess we wanted to stay 424 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,800 Speaker 1: on theme. The better takeaway for parents is that naps 425 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: are crucial for infant learning and rocking can greatly improve 426 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 1: the process. But I completely agree with you. We both 427 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: need Casper or whoever supports podcast to make a rocking bed, 428 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 1: so so we can get one already. 429 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, please get on it. And Okay, so that can 430 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 2: be our first tip for how to turn your baby 431 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,199 Speaker 2: into a baby genius. But there's plenty more where that 432 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 2: came from. So let's take another quick break and then 433 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 2: we'll get back to it. Okay, Mango, So what's your 434 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:27,760 Speaker 2: best advice for folks who want to soup up their infants? 435 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 2: A few cybernetic upgrades, maybe some tasteful jean splicing. What 436 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:32,199 Speaker 2: do you think of? 437 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 1: I mean, the fact is there's always been a lot 438 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,879 Speaker 1: of interest in potential ways to like kind of juice 439 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 1: your baby's development and make them smarter or better coordinated 440 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: or whatever else. I don't think we're going to delve 441 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: into anything as drastic as the fuck you mentioned, but 442 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: there are plenty of toys and gadgets that are marketed 443 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: as the surefire way to give your baby a leg 444 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,959 Speaker 1: up in life. I know, you know, everything from like 445 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: certain toys to baby Einstein type stuff or whatever. In 446 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: the US alone, the educational toys market size was more 447 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: than twenty five billion dollars in twenty twenty four, which 448 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 1: is more than a third of the global market size. 449 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 2: That is insane. I guess that's a good thing, though, 450 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,439 Speaker 2: right Like, it means there are tons of American parents 451 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,879 Speaker 2: making choices with their child's best interests in mind, instead 452 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 2: of just like, I don't know, buying a toy because 453 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 2: it lights up or makes noise or something like that. 454 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I like that optimism. I'm sure there's 455 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,320 Speaker 1: a lot of fear that your baby's getting left behind, 456 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: but it is not that simple. So, according to some experts, 457 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: the real reason that educational toys have become so successful 458 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 1: here is that a lot of American parents harbor deep 459 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 1: insecurities about doing right by their kids. And while that's 460 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: obviously admirable in a way, putting that kind of pressure 461 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,679 Speaker 1: on yourself can also make you more inclined to believe 462 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,879 Speaker 1: that a product is more useful than it really is. 463 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 1: For example, do you remember a while back when Fisher 464 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: Price released that Caterpillar toy that was supposed to teach 465 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: preschoolers how to code? 466 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:03,080 Speaker 2: Oh, the code of pillar? 467 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:03,360 Speaker 1: Yes? 468 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:04,159 Speaker 2: How could I forget? 469 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: Of course, right, it was great branding because if your 470 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 1: kid isn't coding early they must be coding late. 471 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,439 Speaker 2: Of course, right, But are you saying, like the benefits 472 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 2: these products claim to have, but you know, there's like 473 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:20,360 Speaker 2: no science to back them up. 474 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 1: I wouldn't go that far, but a lot of developmental 475 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: psychologists do argue that there's a pretty big gap between 476 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: the actual research and what many of these products claim. 477 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: And the truth is, there's just not much science to 478 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,239 Speaker 1: support the idea that you can, you know, soup up 479 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,160 Speaker 1: your baby. That's just not how the developmental process works. 480 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,359 Speaker 1: Like the whole idea is for the child to build 481 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: themselves gradually, So any kind of quick fix or magic 482 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,639 Speaker 1: boost from a toy or gadget would kind of defeat 483 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: the purpose. 484 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 2: Okay, but I mean, as a toy guy, playing with 485 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 2: toys is important, right, You're not going to take that 486 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 2: away from me. Like, I know, we've talked before about 487 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 2: how building things would block or lego can improve spatial reasoning, 488 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 2: and like other simple toys, balls, dump trucks, things like that, 489 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 2: they're supposed to be good too, And that's because you know, 490 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,879 Speaker 2: they teach kids about foundational things like the effects of 491 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 2: gravity or how motion works. 492 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:19,120 Speaker 1: And are you convinced, Yeah, I mean I agree that 493 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 1: play is fun, and I would never talk badly about 494 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: your toys or action figures. However, we're categorizing them, which 495 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: definitely makes it important in its own right, right Like 496 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: play is important, but at the end of the day, 497 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: the educational merit of your kid's favorite toys less important 498 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: than whether or not you play with it with them, right, Like, 499 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: studies have shown that interactions with parents really are the 500 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,679 Speaker 1: best way for a child to learn, So playing with 501 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: the toy won't necessarily prepare your baby for life, but 502 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: playing with you will. 503 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that definitely tracks with everything I've read 504 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 2: this week, Like apparently, when babies watching adult move a 505 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 2: specific body part, the areas their brain associated with that 506 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 2: movement light up, So the interaction is really teaching them 507 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:08,399 Speaker 2: how to make those movements themselves, just by. 508 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 1: Watching exactly, And that's what happens during face to face 509 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: play sessions too, right, Like the adult's brain and the 510 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: child's brain they actually sink up so that both experienced 511 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,840 Speaker 1: similar levels of brain activity in the same regions as 512 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,959 Speaker 1: the brain. It does make me curious, though, like, do 513 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 1: you think that kind of neural mirroring only works in person, 514 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: or would just watching someone on a screen be enough 515 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: to trigger the same response. 516 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:34,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it would probably still work, but maybe 517 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 2: like to a lesser extent. For instance, there was this 518 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 2: twenty fourteen study where researchers found that literacy videos aimed 519 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 2: at infants under eighteen months weren't effective for teaching them 520 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,959 Speaker 2: how to read. Meanwhile, multiple studies have shown that babies 521 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,360 Speaker 2: perform better at language acquisition when they're engaged by an 522 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 2: in person tutor. So there are different degrees of interaction, right, 523 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 2: and some of them boost learning more than others. So 524 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 2: audio and video recordings are better than nothing, but they 525 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 2: still can't match the benefits of in person interaction the 526 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 2: kind of stuff you're talking about. 527 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 1: Which totally makes sense. So maybe our advice is hold 528 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: off on the baby's first tablet for years, but do 529 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 1: away with your kids please. Speaking of real interactions, one 530 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 1: interesting thing I read this week is that babies can 531 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 1: be downright deceptive if they feel they aren't getting enough 532 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: FaceTime with their parents, which sounds like a weird conspiracy theory, 533 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: but a cordier researcher, Hiroko Hakayama, some babies will fake 534 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:36,679 Speaker 1: cry to get more attention. 535 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 2: Wait wait, wait, how could he even tell that? Like honestly. 536 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: So, Hakayama filmed two infants in their homes for an 537 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: hour at a time, and he did this twice a 538 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: month over the course of six months. So he obviously 539 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:53,360 Speaker 1: captured a lot of crying on film during that time, 540 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: and to determine which cries were real and which ones 541 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: were phony, he paid close attention to what happened just 542 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: before and just after each fit of crying. So when 543 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,959 Speaker 1: a baby showed signs of distress or on happiness just 544 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: before crying or just after crying, Hakayama concluded that the 545 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: cry was authentic. But when the crying seemed just to 546 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: come out of nowhere, or when a baby starts smiling 547 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:20,960 Speaker 1: or laughing immediately after crying, Hakayama claimed that those babies 548 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: were faking the cry to get attention. 549 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 2: That is fascinating and also pretty devious. 550 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: You know, that's why I never trust a baby. 551 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 2: Never trust a baby. 552 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: So, according to Hakayama, the fake crying is actually a 553 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 1: good thing since it usually succeeds in spurring more interactions 554 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: with the caregiver. So, as he put it quote, such 555 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: individual interaction contributes greatly not only to an infant's social development, 556 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: but also to their emotional development. Infants who are capable 557 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,600 Speaker 1: of fake crying might communicate successfully with their caregivers in 558 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 1: this way on a daily basis, fake crying could add 559 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 1: much to their relationship. 560 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, it reminds me of some studies I've read on 561 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 2: how important touch is to a child's development. Like, we've 562 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 2: known for a while that babies who go without regular 563 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 2: skin to skin contact often suffer from conditions like low weight, anxiety, 564 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 2: or depression. They can even have wildly different hormone levels 565 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:20,440 Speaker 2: compared to kids who receive, you know, regular contact, and 566 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 2: these kinds of effects can linger well after the child 567 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 2: has grown up. And on the other hand, researchers say 568 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 2: that direct contact between a baby and a parent helps 569 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,719 Speaker 2: establish stronger neural connections and keeps them on a healthy 570 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,720 Speaker 2: developmental path. So, yeah, you really can't undersell the importance 571 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 2: of this. 572 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 1: And I guess that makes sense when you think about 573 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: how calming touch can be for a baby, right, Like 574 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 1: we talked about how rocking a baby in your arms 575 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: can make them sleep better, and that sleep is when 576 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: babies process what they've learned. So it's really not that 577 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: surprising to hear there's a connection between parental contact and 578 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: brain development. 579 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good point. And one thing I was 580 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 2: surprised to hear though, is that touch also has an 581 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 2: effect on a baby's sense of self. So most kids 582 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 2: develop some level of self awareness by the age of two, 583 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 2: which is typically when they start to recognize themselves in 584 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 2: mirrors or in pictures, But frequent contact with a caregiver 585 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 2: can actually speed up the process because it helps the 586 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,400 Speaker 2: baby gain a sense of what is or isn't them, 587 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 2: the parts of their body which they can control and 588 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 2: the ones they can't because you know, those belong to 589 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 2: somebody else. And there's this great quote I found in 590 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 2: Scientific American that really hammers home the importance of engagement, 591 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 2: you know, physical and otherwise when it comes to infant development. 592 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 2: It's from a researcher of developmental psychology named Anne Bigelow, 593 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,840 Speaker 2: and she writes, quote, this early understanding of self and 594 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 2: early understanding of other is developed through interaction. It teaches 595 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,959 Speaker 2: babies basic lessons that they have some agency in the world. 596 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,720 Speaker 2: So that allows them to explore the world and feel 597 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 2: like they can affect their environment as opposed to just 598 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,840 Speaker 2: being helpless to whatever happens to them. We're basically a 599 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,959 Speaker 2: social species. And we learn those things through interacting with others. 600 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, we said there's no real way to 601 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: supercharge a baby, but obviously upping the amount of interaction 602 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 1: you have with them is probably the closest thing, along 603 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 1: with the rocking. 604 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, and if that doesn't work, you know, there's 605 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,719 Speaker 2: always cybernetic enhancements the wave of the future. 606 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,680 Speaker 1: All right, now that we've cracked the code on parenting 607 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 1: once and for all, what do you say we get 608 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 1: into a fact off, you'll. 609 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:37,160 Speaker 2: Bring it on. So we talked about how babies can 610 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 2: manipulate adults with their cries, but they actually have another 611 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,000 Speaker 2: trick up their sleeves because they can also do the 612 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 2: same thing with their smiles. So, according to a research 613 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 2: team and you see San Diego, babies can time their 614 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 2: smiles precisely in order to get adults to smile back 615 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 2: at them. After studying interactions between mothers and their babies, 616 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 2: the researchers determined that by the time infants are four 617 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 2: months sold, they can time how long they made eye 618 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,960 Speaker 2: contact and how quickly their lips turn up in a smile. 619 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 2: So the idea is that babies play this kind of 620 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 2: smile game with their caregivers where they purposefully try to 621 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 2: make the adult smile. And while nobody's sure exactly why 622 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 2: babies would have that goal, it could be that they 623 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,240 Speaker 2: realize how helpless they are and they just want to 624 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 2: engender as much goodwill as possible in the people looking 625 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:24,680 Speaker 2: after them. 626 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 1: See, babies are so untrustworthy. That's the other thing people 627 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: should take from this, sus do not trust one as 628 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,600 Speaker 1: a financial advisor or real estate shark, and they are 629 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: pretty smart. Well, here's a quick one from Popular Science. 630 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 1: In two thousand and seven, scientists conducted a weird experiment 631 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: to see whether a wet diaper is annoying enough to 632 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: wake up a sleeping baby. And here's what they did. 633 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,640 Speaker 1: Using a syringe, they injected warm water into the diapers 634 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 1: of thirty four sleeping infants, and then they monitored the 635 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: baby's heart rates and also their respiratory frequencies to see 636 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:01,680 Speaker 1: how they responded to that wetness. 637 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:03,680 Speaker 2: And so what was the verdict. 638 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: Not a single baby woke up. They didn't seem to 639 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 1: mind it at all, which is why a lot of 640 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,600 Speaker 1: experts now say it's best to let sleeping babies lie 641 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:14,440 Speaker 1: even if their diapers are wet. 642 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,200 Speaker 2: Good to know. So here's a weird one I'd never 643 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:22,240 Speaker 2: heard before. Only one in five Caucasian adults have blue eyes, 644 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 2: but the vast majority of Caucasian babies are born with 645 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 2: blue eyes, and the reason for the change all comes 646 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 2: down to the amount of melanin that a baby has. 647 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,080 Speaker 2: So the more the pigment that a person has in 648 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:36,880 Speaker 2: their eyes, the more sunlight their eyes will reflect and 649 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,360 Speaker 2: the darker they will be. So a person with just 650 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,520 Speaker 2: a little bit of melanin in their irises will have 651 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,600 Speaker 2: blue or gray eyes, while a medium amount of melanin 652 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,280 Speaker 2: will make them green or hazel, and a large amount 653 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:51,279 Speaker 2: will make the irises brown. Babies, though, aren't born with 654 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 2: all of the melanin that they'll eventually have, which is 655 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,239 Speaker 2: why eye color isn't considered set until a child is 656 00:34:57,239 --> 00:35:00,560 Speaker 2: about two years old. And since Caucasian in tend to 657 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,120 Speaker 2: have less melanin than other ethnicities, most white children will 658 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 2: have blue eyes at birth, even though they won't stay 659 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 2: blue for very long. 660 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. That's really also the case with my kids, both 661 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,799 Speaker 1: born with light eyes and then changed. 662 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,520 Speaker 2: And then change. Yeah, and they's probably set when they 663 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,719 Speaker 2: were around two. I guess uh. 664 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:23,800 Speaker 1: They set faster for my kids. It's like it was 665 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:28,439 Speaker 1: like a height chart for US colored chart eyes. Well, 666 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,720 Speaker 1: speak of baby eyes, have you ever noticed that babies 667 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:34,360 Speaker 1: seem to barely blink at all. In fact, adults blink 668 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,400 Speaker 1: about fifteen times a minute on average, but the average 669 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,799 Speaker 1: for babies is only about two or three blinks in 670 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: an entire minute. 671 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:44,360 Speaker 2: And that's pretty unsettling. 672 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:48,200 Speaker 1: But uh, why so in front of researchers do not 673 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,080 Speaker 1: actually know for certain. But one of the reasons people 674 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: blink is to keep our eyes lubricated, so it could 675 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:57,279 Speaker 1: be that. And because babies have much smaller eyes, they 676 00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,480 Speaker 1: just need a lot less lubrication than we do and 677 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:01,240 Speaker 1: therefore don't blink as often. 678 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,640 Speaker 2: All right, so babies can get by with fewer blinks, 679 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:07,040 Speaker 2: But that's not the only way they can get by 680 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,920 Speaker 2: with less. For instance, when it comes to eating, the 681 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,479 Speaker 2: USDA estimates that babies one to three months old only 682 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 2: need to consume between four hundred and thirty eight and 683 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 2: five hundred and seventy two calories over the course of 684 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 2: an entire day, which, if you're curious, is about as 685 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 2: much as a single big Mac. 686 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,960 Speaker 1: True story, but I mean, are you saying we should 687 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:30,840 Speaker 1: feed Big Max to newborns or not. 688 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 2: I'm I don't know. 689 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:37,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, we're not experts. So here's what I was surprised 690 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 1: to learn. Oh, by the way, do not feed your 691 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:43,760 Speaker 1: baby a big mac. I'm gonna say that clearly before 692 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:47,120 Speaker 1: our lawyers step in to say it for us. Okay, 693 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:49,400 Speaker 1: So here's another fact I was surprised to learn. You know, 694 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 1: how nobody can remember what it was like to be 695 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,000 Speaker 1: a baby. Well, it turns out that on some level, 696 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,920 Speaker 1: we do still remember the people we met as infants. So, 697 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:01,800 Speaker 1: according to findings from a twenty thirteen study, three and 698 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 1: a half year old children were able to remember the 699 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:08,520 Speaker 1: faces of people they'd met only one time, briefly several 700 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:12,120 Speaker 1: years earlier. The kids were shown two videos, one featuring 701 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,640 Speaker 1: a face of a researcher they had met years prior, 702 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,759 Speaker 1: and one showing the face of a total stranger, and 703 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,920 Speaker 1: in an instance of what researchers called quote novelty preference, 704 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,040 Speaker 1: the kids all paid more attention to the stranger, the 705 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,920 Speaker 1: person that looked new to them. So, even if we 706 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:31,200 Speaker 1: can't consciously remember what our early lives were like, there's 707 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: a good chance that our brains still do keep track 708 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,520 Speaker 1: of it, which is all the more reason to make 709 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,480 Speaker 1: sure that your kid's childhood is as happy and safe 710 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:42,200 Speaker 1: as possible. You never know when some happy, subconscious memories 711 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,480 Speaker 1: might come in handy for them later in life. 712 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,320 Speaker 2: I love that it's a very weird thing to think about. 713 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 2: And you also taught us that you should not feed 714 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,480 Speaker 2: newborn's big Max definitively, so I think you get the 715 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,360 Speaker 2: trophy this week. Mango. Congrats. 716 00:37:55,440 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 1: Thank you well. That is it for today's episode. If 717 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,000 Speaker 1: you enjoy the show, be sure to subscribe on your 718 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:06,400 Speaker 1: favorite podcast app, leave us a five star rating and review, 719 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:10,320 Speaker 1: drop us a line at high Geniuses at gmail dot com, 720 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:15,040 Speaker 1: Hi Geniuses, or give us a call on the PTG hotline, 721 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:19,320 Speaker 1: which we have. We love listening to messages. The number 722 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,960 Speaker 1: is three O two four oh five five nine two five. 723 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,760 Speaker 1: We will be back next week with another new episode, 724 00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:30,080 Speaker 1: but until then, from Dylan, Gabe, Mary, Will and my song, 725 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:46,120 Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening. Part Time Genius is 726 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,960 Speaker 1: a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show is hosted 727 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:54,239 Speaker 1: by Will Pearson and Me Monga's Hetikler, and research by 728 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 1: our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode was engineered 729 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,480 Speaker 1: and produced by the wonderful Llan Fagan with support from 730 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:05,239 Speaker 1: Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced for iHeart by 731 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,799 Speaker 1: Katrina Norvel and Ali Perry, with social media support from 732 00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:13,399 Speaker 1: Sasha Gay, Trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey. For more 733 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:18,719 Speaker 1: podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 734 00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:34,759 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.