A Thousand Days Of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle Of His Daughter's Developing Mind (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
Had to return to the library, but enjoyed the first few chapters that I read. This book stands out from the others of this ilk because the author assumes that the reader has a brain, so many of these books spoon-feed science. The most useful insight I learned was that young children don't have internal monologues. Instead, the verbalizing one hears is the child processing information. So when your child touches the forbidden object and says "no", he isn't talking to you, but remembering he isn't supposed to touch something. I read this book in less than a day because it was so compelling. Fernyhough, a developmental psychologist, chronicles the first three years of his daughter's life, touching on all aspects of her development but mostly focused on her mind. He intersperses episodes of her life with psychological theories as to why she might be acting the way she is and what, exactly, she is experiencing. The major question of the book is, "What is it like to be an infant or a toddler?" Fernyhough is an apt observer, an engaging writer, and an experienced researcher, all of which combine to make one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while.We may never truly know what goes on behind the eyes of a baby, but Fernyhough gives it his best shot, combining the methods of a scientist with the love of a father. Whether describing the chaotic bundle of sensations of a newborn infant or the cunning first lie of a three-year-old, his descriptions draw the reader in, making this one of the few non-fiction page-turners I've ever read.
What do You think about A Thousand Days Of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle Of His Daughter's Developing Mind (2009)?
starting to think i like the premise of this more than the execution
—alexknowles
More facile than I expected. Feelgood stuff, little new here.
—kristi
