Subject: Re: neonatal imitation
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 98 11:07:12 -0600
From: Mark Mills <mmills@fastlane.net>
To: "Memetics List" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Message-Id: <E0zW0lJ-00039N-00@dryctnath.mmu.ac.uk>
Bill,
> But I can't imagine it being much more than a "seed" for later
>imitation, where the later imitation calls
>on linguistic and linguistically-facilitated cognitive capacities.
How do you define 'seed.' Where is the beginning and end?
window has a different 'focus.' At different ages, the child finds
different stimuli interesting. There is no one seed, but an inherited
chain reaction.
The most obvious example is puberty. Regardless one's infant
experiences, puberty will have a dramatic effect on language skills. It
might be a change in vocal tone. It might be a change in vocabulary. It
is usually changes everything to a degree. Puberty is natural, it just
happens. It is an inherited development.
When does the sequence of language acquisition windows stop? 15 years?
25 years? 50 years?
As I said before, I imagine the boundary between inherited instinct and
consciousness fractal. There is no one dividing line. There is no one
seed.
Mark
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