There is a tension between our desire to get our kids to turn out a particular way versus letting them develop to be their own person. If there were a pill that would make my child turn out the way I wanted, I'm not sure I'd take it.

The brain is highly structured, but it is also extremely flexible. It's not a blank slate, but it isn't written in stone, either.

I'm culturally Jewish but, like most scientists, an atheist: I don't believe there's a God or supernatural world. Buddhism offers guidance on what to do in a world without God: It opines that truly being present in the world‚ experiencing and hanging out with your loved ones, provides all the significance you could want.

Babies and young children are like the research and development division of the human species, and we grown-ups are production and marketing.

Philosophers and psychologists have long puzzled over the question of how we know as much as we do despite our limited experiences. One way is to see how children learn. Another example is consciousness. The concept is usually explored by armchair academics. Looking at kids expands our conceptions of consciousness.

Owning our past allows us to own our future.

The radio was an improvement on the telegraph but it didn't have the same exponential, transformative effect.