We come into the world with no knowledge of our surroundings or of who, or what, we are.
We do have an insatiable curiosity and a malleable brain capable of learning.
A baby has an “exploratory urge” to observe and make sense of the world.
To prod things and see what happens.
As we grow up, we learn by:
Seeing and looking
Experiment
Reason
Introspection
Asking trusted authorities (testimony).
In the early days, we do this unintentionally and unconsciously, relying on the in-built properties of the infant brain. Later on, we do this intentionally and consciously, driven by curiosity or necessity.
Never stop asking “why?” Or “what if?” Because you never know where it might lead!
We build up mental models which get more accurate and more expansive as time goes on. We learn more and more about the world, including those things which enable us to effectively communicate with others and to learn from them. And, for better or for worse, to compete with them.
We assume, and find out by experience, that there are “laws of Nature”. The world will generally respond in the same way to the same starting conditions. If it does not, we are surprised and wonder why.
If we drop a ball we expect it to fall to the ground. If, on one occasion, it doesn’t we would look for a reason why. We assume that the way the world works has not just suddenly changed.
So long as our environment responds in this consistent way, we can formulate rules and strategies about “what works”, and what is likely to be necessary to get what we want.
But we also observe that the world contains entities whose behaviour cannot be predicted in this way, such as other people, and yet that does not surprise us. Instinctively, we draw the distinction between “agents” who can act independently and make free choices and “objects” which simply follow “natural laws”.
Is child-like curiosity something we grow out of? Is an adult scientist a child who has never grown up? Do parents stifle a child’s innate curiosity? This short video gives an interesting viewpoint but most of all illustrates the innate desire to learn and the significance of learning.