Smart Babies

Scientist are becoming more adept at determining the abilities of the newly born, leading to the recognition of the new-born baby as a "competent infant," reports The Times. Contrary to belief, babies are born with high degree of intelligence. Newborns quickly begin to make sense of what they say. One of the researchers, Dr. Alan Slater, of Exeter University, says: "Babies can learn about the world from the moment they are born. The new infant recognizes its mother and others by sight, sound, and smell. The evidence also points to a lot of learning in the womb. The magazine also notes that a number of international investigations are demonstrating that babies are not just a bundle of reflexes waiting to be fed and that at a very early age, infants can carry out a task by planning rather than trial and error.