New research shows that infants have brains that are smarter, faster and busier than adults.
Peg Skorpinski photo. That baby in the crib only looks like a soft, downy, innocent creature without an agenda. Actually, it has the greatest mind in the universe in the process of solving major philosophical questions with a brain that is smarter, faster and busier than any adult's, according to new research published in a book co-written by a Berkeley professor who is a leading cognitive psychologist. If you combine the psychological and neurological evidence, it is hard to avoid concluding that babies are just plain smarter than we are, at least if being smart means being able to learn something new. Co-written by the University of Washington's Andrew Meltzoff, a pioneer in infant psychology, and Patricia Kuhl, a world authority on language development, the book makes clear that what society does for preschoolers will affect not only the lives of those children but the future of the world as well.