Nov 24 2009
Natural Born Scientists
Perhaps more than being Natural Born Killers, human beings are natural born scientists. Or at least have the potential to be.
New research published in the journal Child Development has found that when preschool-age children ask those series of “why” and “how come” questions, they aren’t fishing for attention. They want answers. And not just any answer.
By looking at how the children reacted to the answers they received to their questions, the researchers found that children seem to be more satisfied when they receive an explanatory answer than when they do not. [source]
An explanatory answer. Anyone familiar with science knows that science does more than provide answers by connecting dots. It also reveals the mechanisms and processes between the dots, so to speak. Beyond B “because” A, there are variables and hypotheses and theories that reveal “how come” B follows A. In a sense, this is the reductionistic mindset innocently manifesting itself. While a basic answer might help us know about A and B alone, an answer that includes more information about underlying mechanisms — about the many variables and relationships potentially involved — can help us better understand whole classes of phenomena. We can take what we learned from one instance and apply it to other circumstances. Now that’s smart.
Unfortunately, not all nature born scientists continue their questioning ways. It seems that the scientific attitude of preschoolers wanes as they age. Why is that? How come?
