The Philosophical Parent

“A man never steps in the same river twice because neither the river nor the man are the same” – Gopnik with Heraclitus

From Pregnancy to Parenting

If being pregnant is like being Frodo in Lord of the Rings, then being a parent is like being Neo in The Matrix. My #1 Lesson Learned as a new parent is that my next move changes the map. Not only does this force me to constantly confront the edges of my comfort zone, it’s taught me a thing or two about a baby’s mind.

A Beautiful Mind

According to Alison Gopnik, “When we change the way we think, we also change the way thinking feels to us. When what we know changes, our experience changes, too.” It follows then that a sign of learning is that we change our minds based on the information we obtain. A mind that remains unchanging doesn’t just belong to a stubborn personality, it’s proof of a mind that has ossified. And we all know that when something stops growing it’s dying.

“Let’s play Pretend!”

If each human being is a “creation of the human imagination”, as viewed by Gopnik, then the world’s our oyster. In order to change the world around us, we need to begin with an open mind and who better to learn from than babies and children?

How much of the Unexpected do you encounter on an hourly or daily basis to keep you on your toes? Begin by watching Alison Gopnik’s talk on “What Babies Think” on Ted.com.