Yesterday, Ted Talks, taking a summer break from new videos, posted a playlist of talks on "childish thinking." We can all (hopefully) appreciate the thought processes of children, and sometimes we wish to revert back to the unabashed creativity and lack of fear that we had when we were kids, but how many of us actually do it? In fact, I'll bet we're all guilty of saying things like, "what, is she 30 going on 15?" or "when are you going to grow up and stop acting like a child?" We are amused and amazed at the minds of children, but when it comes to letting ourselves learn from them, we tell ourselves that we are adults and know better.
Check out the video playlist on the TedTalks page - you might see childish thinking in a new light. No, not about throwing mashed potatoes across the room or crying over a broken toy, but in the goodness that kids naturally see in the world, and the difference that they want to make.
Especially impressive was the amazing Miss Adora Svitak, a twelve year old author, teacher, poet, and humanitarian, who has the brains and talent to put us adults in our place. In her talk to some of the most brilliant minds around, she says, "The traits the word 'childish' addresses are seen so often in adults that we should abolish this age discriminatory word when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking."
Wow. I get it, Adora...and promise to try and do better.
Check it out when you have time - Adora's talk is just over eight minutes long. Some of the others are a bit longer but worth it. Let's check our heads and at least give a little credence to what the kids in our lives are saying, before we tell them that they'll understand why their ideas won't work, when they're smart adults like us.
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