# This litttle girl is the next stage in human evolution - Reading at 17 months! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 10, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904 "2008-03-10T23:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/1 "2008-03-10T23:48:50Z")
[Amazing story!](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23556514/) > [@](#): > > Elizabeth Barrett is to all appearances your standard 17-month-old girl, complete with wisps of gossamer hair so blond it’s almost white and the unsteady gait that is the definition of a toddler. As her parents and two other adults talk earnestly around her, she paws through a couple of large-format children’s books on a table, blissfully unaware of the conversation around her. > > Then TODAY’s Ann Curry holds up a sheet of paper with the word “HAPPY” printed in big, block letters and asks Elizabeth to read it. > > “Hap-py,” Elizabeth chirps without hesitation, enunciating each syllable in a bright little voice. > > Curry holds up another sheet of paper. > > “Zip-per,” Elizabeth says. > > Curry goes on flashing words, none of which Elizabeth has been coached on, and the remarkable little girl reads them. > > “Kang-a-roo.” “Flow-er.” “Nice to meet you.” “Take a bath.” “Good morning, Ann.” ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/2 "2008-03-10T23:54:52Z")
Geesh, now I feel like a slouch for waiting until I was 3ish. ::mutter:: Young whippersnappers… ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/3 "2008-03-10T23:57:46Z")
I’m surprised she isn’t signed up for the Dope by now. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/4 "2008-03-11T00:00:00Z")
I could read large format children’s books at 9 months. I just found the content a little slow and pedestrian however so I focused on other things. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/5 "2008-03-11T00:13:10Z")
Is there any correlation between reading early and ultimate intelligence? I mean, kids who walk at 9 months instead of 12 months aren’t expected to be especially talented runners. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/6 "2008-03-11T00:18:31Z")
Steve Wright kept a diary as an infant. > [@](#): > > Day 1: Still tired from the move. > Day 2: Everybody here talks to me like I’m an _idiot_. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/7 "2008-03-11T00:18:56Z")
You can say what you want about [Rupert Sheldrake’s theories,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Sheldrake) but a girl like this fits right in. One of the things Sheldrake claims in his theory of morphic fields, is, that if enough people do something often enough, it becomes easier for new people to do it as well. As if a sort of energetic path is cleared that makes walking on it easier. More and more children learn to read English, and for every new child it becomes a little bit easier. > [@](#): > > Sheldrake put forward the hypothesis of formative causation (the theory of morphic resonance), which proposes that phenomena — particularly biological ones — become more probable the more often they occur, and therefore that biological growth and behaviour become guided into patterns laid down by previous similar events. He suggested that this underlies many aspects of science, from evolution to laws of nature. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/8 "2008-03-11T00:29:38Z")
> [@Sheldrake](#): > > phenomena…become more probable the more often they occur That man is a fucking genius. :dubious: Was his research funded by the Center for the Study of the Blatantly Obvious? Or am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/9 "2008-03-11T00:36:37Z")
It’s not at all a priori obvious that phenomena should become more probable the more often they occur; just because I happen to get a streak of heads doesn’t necessarily mean that future flips will be biased towards heads, for example. So there can, in fact, be substance in such a claim (as opposed to empty tautology). That having been said, what I would want to say about Rupert Sheldrake’s theories is, well, not positive, and I hardly see how this sort of case, even if entirely on the up and up, so to speak, provides any significant legitimacy for them. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/10 "2008-03-11T00:36:46Z")
[QUOTE=CynicalGabe] Was his research funded by the Center for the Study of the Blatantly Obvious?Or am I missing something? [/QUOTE] I don’t want to hijack this thread by explaining Sheldrake. Many Dopers think he’s a quack, as you can see if you go looking for SDMB threads about the guy. Many other people find his ideas revolutionary and intriguing, as do I. I also find them scientific, in the sense that he puts forward hypotheses that can be tested, even if the theory behind the experiments can’t be tested. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/11 "2008-03-11T00:41:25Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Steve Wright kept a diary as an infant. [/QUOTE] “When I turned two, I thought _Wow, I just doubled my age! If I keep this up, by the time I’m 8, I’ll be 90!_” ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/12 "2008-03-11T00:44:30Z")
Well, 128, as I reckon it. Though, I suppose, if you’re both 8 and 128, you might as well be 90 to boot. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/13 "2008-03-11T00:44:48Z")
hasn’t been coached? :dubious: So, she knew to recognize certain forms as letters and that these forms are strung together to form English words? Methinks she was coached. We were all “coached”–no one sprang from the womb reading without an introduction to language with reiteration and reinforcement. I see nothing so very great about this. Good for her, and I hope she loves to read her entire life long–but longterm, what significance does this have for her? I don’t have any wisdom teeth–does that make me one rung higher on the evolutionary ladder (ie that which is vestigal is lost?). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/14 "2008-03-11T00:45:51Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] Well, 128, as I reckon it. Though, I suppose, if you’re both 8 and 128, you might as well be 90 to boot. [/QUOTE] Takes shoes and socks off to count. I get 64 at most. (this is why I didn’t major in math, folks). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/15 "2008-03-11T00:48:31Z")
Every human being ever born is, literally, the next stage in human evolution, compared to their parents. And, of course, as far as stages in evolution goes, me and my monkey/horse/tree/moss contemporaries are approximately equally advanced, in comparison to our common ancestors. Their descent just happened to go off in a different direction from mine. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/16 "2008-03-11T00:50:10Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Takes shoes and socks off to count. I get 64 at most. (this is why I didn’t major in math, folks). 😛 [/QUOTE] My thinking is, when you’re 2 years old, you have 6 more years to go before you hit 8. Thus, if you keep things up, you’ll be going through 6 more doubling periods (given that your first doubling period, from one to two years old, took a single year). So, we get a final age of 2 \* 2^6 = 2^7 = 128 (i.e., first you double to four, then to eight, then to sixteen, then to thirty-two, then to sixty-four, and then, with the sixth and final double, to 128). ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/17 "2008-03-11T01:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] hasn’t been coached? :dubious: So, she knew to recognize certain forms as letters and that these forms are strung together to form English words? Methinks she was coached. We were all “coached”–no one sprang from the womb reading without an introduction to language with reiteration and reinforcement.== [/QUOTE] Of course she’s probably been taught somewhat (although apparently she read her first word, “corn”, without anyone having taught her anything about reading). However, she wasn’t “coached” on the flashcards the reporter used to test her reading ability. “Coached” would imply that she was shown those flashcards earlier and taught to repeat the words in a specific order - that she can’t really read but simply had the sound of the words memorized. For an example of coaching vs. learning to read, my younger brother had a book about dinosaurs when he was a toddler that had one dinosaur for each letter of the alphabet and a short (four or five sentence) description of each dinosaur. When he was about 18 months old he had the entire book memorized word for word, and he knew which page belonged to which dinosaur (from the pictures), but he couldn’t read at all. Sometimes he’d “follow along” with the words by pointing his finger as he recited the text, but more often than not his finger wasn’t pointing at the right sentence to go with what he was saying. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/18 "2008-03-11T01:58:13Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Takes shoes and socks off to count. I get 64 at most. (this is why I didn’t major in math, folks). 😛 [/QUOTE] Holy crap, _you’re_ the next step in evolution. When I take my shoes and socks off I can still only count to 20! (21, if you’re male.) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/19 "2008-03-11T03:42:25Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Holy crap, _you’re_ the next step in evolution. When I take my shoes and socks off I can still only count to 20! (21, if you’re male.) [/QUOTE] Most of us guys would need to take off a little more than socks and shoes for that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904/20 "2008-03-11T03:56:34Z")
I can count to 1023 on my fingers. Those with especially dexterous toes can get to well over one million. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-litttle-girl-is-the-next-stage-in-human-evolution-reading-at-17-months/440904.md?page=2)