[extropy-chat] Singularity Drugs

[BillK]

On 4/15/06, Neil H. wrote:
> You're probably right, but a quick random thought:
>
> Children are able to learn things like new languages much better than
> adults, presumably because their brains are in a state of enhanced
> plasticity. Perhaps having the brain in such an enhanced plasticity mode
> consumes more calories, and after the critical period the brain switches out
> of that mode to conserve calories.
>
> If this is true, it may be possible to apply some sort of chemical which
> switches the brain back into the "enhanced plasticity mode," which consume
> more calories but can learn faster. Of course, this may also have some other
> side-effects.
>

Hey, don't use popular urban myths as a base for 'scientific' speculation!  :)

Children learning languages is a field in which much research has been
done, due to immigration and resulting education problems.

<http://www.wested.org/policy/pubs/fostering/misconceptions.htm>
Young children learn second languages easily, and the younger the
child, the more skilled he or she will be in acquiring a second
language.
FALSE. The impression that children learn languages faster than adults
arises because a young child does not have to learn as much as an
adult to achieve competence in communicating. However, research does
not support these beliefs, particularly in learning more abstract,
academic language skills. Other than in pronunciation, younger
children are often at a disadvantage compared with older children and
adults in learning second languages quickly and effectively because
they don't have access to prior knowledge, memory techniques and other
learning strategies and cognitive skills. (McLaughlin, 1992; August
and Hakuta, 1997).

<http://learninglanguages.lifetips.com/tip/110411/what-you-can-learn/what-you-can-learn/do-children-learn-languages-faster-than-adults.html>
You've probably heard that children have a natural ability to learn
languages. For them it is literally child's play. This is because
humans are born with special internal "wiring" in the language centers
of the brain that literally drives them to learn to speak at an early
age. Even infants who are born deaf still try to make talking sounds.
You've probably also heard that once a child reaches a certain age,
that window of opportunity to learn a second or third language closes,
and as an adult it's much, much harder to pick up a new language,
right? Wrong! Research shows that adults retain the hard wiring they
used as children and can learn a second language surprisingly easily
if they use good learning methods. In fact, in about six months an
average adult can reach the same proficiency level that a child
reaches in about five or six years.


BillK