Dr. Redick shared a picture of a beautiful body of water and mountains. He then spoke of being a child, packing only two apples, leaving at noon and setting off to reach the peak of the mountains. By the time five comes, the two apples are gone, the sun is beginning to set, the child has only conquered a small subset of the mountain, realizing if he turns around now he will still not reach camp by dark. The following year the child brings a little more food and leaves earlier but still does not surmount much of the mountain. The next time the child returns to the camp site he is older and realizes that the mission he has been trying to accomplish will take days and be a trip in itself. Why do things seem so much closer when we are children?
The scientific answer would be as we age our brains mature developing our depth and time perception. As children we are more excited and passionate about things. We look forward to half birthdays, learning to ride a tricycle, counting and reading. Our goals typically begin small. We do not set out to read a chapter book; we are satisfied reading a page with three words on it. When a child sees a mountain they want to be on the top. The want and excitement is all that matters. Time is not a factor, if they bring two apples they will probably only need one for the way there. Although their view of the world is not realistic it is important. Children have accomplished so many of their small goals that they look at the world as a place that if they see it, want it, and believe it, they can achieve it.
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