It seems nearly every time I check the web there is another breakthrough about how babies think, and now leading baby researcher Alison Gopnik suggests that in some ways infants may be smarter than adults.

Essentially, babies live in the moment, lacking many adult tools to make sense of it, Slate reports in an essay on Gopnik’s book “The Philosophical Baby.” In a sense, babies are “more conscious than adults,” the Slate article suggests, citing Gopnik.

For Gopnik, this lack of inhibition and control is a gift. It makes babies and children ideally suited for the task of acquiring information about physical and social reality. When it comes to imagination and learning, their openness to experience makes them "superadults"—not just smart but smarter than we are. – Slate, 8/10/09.

The relatively short article is worth reading, and it inspired me to get a copy of “The Philosophical Baby.”

It is only the latest in a string of interesting research articles that have run this summer. Last month, University of Washington researchers offered new insights into how kids learn, highlighting the importance of social interaction and listening for babies. And last week, we learned that a baby may use her brain’s motor skills region to perceive the action of others, LiveScience reported via MSNBC.com.

What do all of these breakthroughs mean for early learning? If we know babies are more conscious thinkers, as Gopnik suggests, then will we care for infants differently at child care centers?

Any thoughts?