There is yet another reason why scientists and cribs belong together. Everyone should be interested in understanding children because the future of the world, quite literally, depends on them. Recently there has been more and more recognition of that fact. But getting public policies about children right depends on getting the science right. In writing this book we've faced the usual problems of scientists trying to explain their research.
Science is elegant and orderly.
But it is also messy, noisy, complicated and invariably embroiled in controversies and debates. We've tried to indicate when we are talking about our own views and when we're talking about ideas that are generally accepted in the field, and to indicate the many questions that remain unanswered. Most of us see a picture of innocence and helplessness, a clean slate. But, in fact, what we see in the crib is the greatest mind that has ever existed, the most powerful learning machine in the universe. The tiny fingers and mouth are exploration devices that probe the alien world around them with more precision than any Mars rover.