Ever look at your baby and wonder what she’s thinking? University of California, Berkley psychologist and philosopher Alison Gopnik has an interesting theory: Babies are far more conscious than we give them credit for.

Before I was a mother, I never realized how dynamic a newborn really is — probably because most of the newborns I’d interacted with before that were always sleeping. But from day one parents realize that their babies are growing, interacting, and changing at a rapid pace.

Gopnik tells Scientific American that, historically, scientists see babies as unconscious beings, but her research has lead her believe that babies are actually more conscious than adults. While adults use their attention like a spotlight, says Gopnik, shining it on the event that they’re attending to, babies use their attention like a lantern, illuminating the world around them:

Finally, you can think about what adult experience is like when we put ourselves in the same position as babies. When we travel for instance, we are suddenly surrounded by an unexpected new world and, instead of just focusing on the important things, we take in lots of information at once. That actually makes us more vividly conscious of our surroundings, not less. I think that for babies, every day is like first love in Paris.

It’s a romantic notion, but I think it fits with the joyful nature of babies.  Remember that stage — somewhere between five and eight months — where you do something ordinary and babies find it hysterical?  Like throwing cheese for the dog to catch or the discovery of that springy door stopper on the back of the bathroom door?

Gopnik applies her philosophy to toddlers and young children too, saying that the reason behind pretend play is that “children learn the truth by imagining all the ways the world could be.”  Read her thoughts, and you just might watch your babies and young children with a new eye today.

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