Because You Said So?

The Epoch Times:

Adults rely heavily on verbal labels to identify objects and understand the world around them, and scientists have long believed that children’s minds work the same way. A new study from Ohio State University, however, suggests otherwise.

“As adults, we know that words are very predictive,” said study co-author Vladimir Sloutsky in an Ohio State news report. “If you use words to guide you, they won’t often let you down.”

For example, if you see an object that looks like a pen, but someone tells you that it is a tape recorder, you might be inclined to believe it and start searching for the microphone or a power switch, he explained.

“You might think it was some kind of spy tool, but you would not have a hard time understanding it as a tape recorder even though it looks like a pen.

“Adults believe words do have a unique power to classify things, but young children don’t think the same way.”

Read the whole story: The Epoch Times