Children: The Intelligent Infant

In its first two years, the human infant displays almost none of its potential. Besides being helpless, babies also seem singularly dumb, and consistently lose intelligence contests when pitted against chimpanzees of the same age. Nothing in the child's limited repertory of action suggests the truly incredible skills that time and experience will hone.

Nonetheless, Psychologist Jerome S. Bruner believes that they must be there, that the full splendor of intelligence is part of the human birthright. Everything the infant needs—to master a tongue, to coax new music from strings, to find...

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