The document discusses how children's natural curiosity and ability to explore scientific ideas diminish as they grow older, primarily due to the development of established neural pathways that hinder openness to new information. It suggests that this loss of curiosity isn't solely a result of schooling but rather a natural process of maturation. Understanding these cognitive shifts can help individuals counteract biases and maintain scientific thinking throughout life.

1. © 2016

2. • Why do we jump to conclusions?
• Why are we sure about things
we don't know?
As Mark Twain put it...
"It ain't what you don't know
that gets you into trouble. It's
what you know for sure that
just ain't so."
2Jumping brain by Emilio Garcia

3. You May Have Noticed this Effect
Why does this happen?
1. Children seem to be naturally
curious and try things in
a basic scientific manner
(expectation -> test -> learn)
2. As we get older, this exploratory
mindset seems to fade.
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4. Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then
we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system
with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.
– Carl Sagan
We’re all born with deep natural capacities for creativity
and systems of mass education tend to suppress them.
– Sir Ken Robinson (in the most popular TED talk)
Many people suggest that school 'beats it out of us,'
which sounds plausible
It is nothing short of a miracle that modern methods
of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy
curiosity of inquiry. For this delicate little plant, aside
from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom.
– Albert Einstein
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5. But Maybe We Should Take a Deeper Look
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6. Our Common Assumption May be Wrong - Here's Why
In the early part of life our brain is highly plastic
and is shaping itself through our encounters
with the physical and social aspects of our
environment. As small children we use what we
learn from sensory input -- from experiments --
to develop our internal structures.
By early adulthood our brain has woven some
elaborate neural pathways and we now have a
reduced ability to change them. As adults we tend
to seek out situations that match our established
internal structures, or try to alter our environment
to make it match those internal structures.
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7. For more on this, see the book
Brain and Culture
by Bruce E. Wexler
2006, MIT Press
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8. Comments by Bruce E. Wexler
Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University
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(1) We stop taking in new information when there is enough of a
match to an existing internal representation based on experience.
(2) There are efficiencies in concluding that something matches a
common feature of our environment, instead of treating each
object or situation as something new, but that also means we
are less open to seeing novelty.
(3) Psychology research shows that we have lower perceptual
thresholds for things with which we are familiar.
(4) Research shows that we discredit information, and are more
likely to forget it, when it does not match our internal structures
(our opinions or beliefs).

9. Child's
Mind
Adult
Mind
Engaged in building
neural structures
Open, exploring,
learning
Unable to navigate
daily life and
survive alone
Utilizes established
neural structures
Easily navigates
daily life
Less open-minded
and curious
It's a Normal Part of Becoming an Adult
Great... But...
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10. Once we hit early adulthood we
automatically become less likely to
use creative and scientific thinking,
due to having neural pathways that
help us navigate the day in a way that
children cannot.
Our life experiences build neural
structures, which simultaneously
reduces our curiosity.
In Short, it Happens Automatically
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11. For instance, a child cannot drive a car because
it doesn't yet have the neural structures, but is
pretty good at exploring and learning new things.
An adult has extensive neural structures that it
relies on to drive a car (and many other things)
but is now less involved in exploring.
It May Be a Tradeoff
That Helps Us Survive
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12. I'd like to propose that it's not
schooling that beats an innate
curiosity out of us. It happens all
by itself as we mature.
If there's a problem with schooling in
this regard, it may be that schooling
does not beat curiosity into us.
Perhaps We Shouldn't Blame the Schools
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13. 13
Scientific Thinking is Acquired
Through Practice
Beyond early childhood
it's not our default mode.
We are notoriously bad at
scientific thinking due to
the predominance of our
acquired neural structures.

14. Why is knowing this
useful?
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15. The better we
understand how
our brain works...
...the more we can
counteract its natural
biases and avoid the
problems they lead to.
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16. So what kills our
innate curiosity?
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18. What Can We Do? Keep in mind that...
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Any human endeavor
involves a process of testing
and possibly adjusting.
Why?

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There's Always a Threshold of Knowledge
Predictable Zone
Current
Knowledge
Threshold
Next
Target
Condition
Unpredictable / Learning Zone
?
We want
to be here
next
?
Source: Toyota Kata

20. Best wishes to you and your team for
practicing routines of scientific thinking
as you pursue your goals!
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