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64th out of 129 books
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74 voters
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A Thousand Days of Wonder: A Scientist's Chronicle of His Daughter's Developing Mind
A father's intimate look at his daughter's developing mind from birth to age three.
Unlike any other time in our lives, we remember almost nothing from our first three years. As infants, not only are we like the proverbial blank slate, but our memories are like Teflon: nothing sticks. In this beautifully written memoir of his daughter's first three years, Charles Fernyhoug...more
Unlike any other time in our lives, we remember almost nothing from our first three years. As infants, not only are we like the proverbial blank slate, but our memories are like Teflon: nothing sticks. In this beautifully written memoir of his daughter's first three years, Charles Fernyhoug...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
April 2nd 2009
by Avery
(first published February 24th 2009)
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I have to admit I wasn’t too crazy about this book when I first started reading. It was very detailed in the science which doesn’t suit my reading tastes at all. It was beginning to lose me a little bit but I’m glad I stuck with it, because it became more clear as I read on that the discussion of the science was a reflective understanding of Fernyhough’s daughter’s world. Fernyhough provided many examples of things he was experiencing with his own daughter to depict the science surrounding the b...more
I read this book in less than a day because it was so compelling. Fernyhough, a developmental psychologist, chronicles the first three years of his daughter's life, touching on all aspects of her development but mostly focused on her mind. He intersperses episodes of her life with psychological theories as to why she might be acting the way she is and what, exactly, she is experiencing. The major question of the book is, "What is it like to be an infant or a toddler?" Fernyhough is an ...more
I was excited about this book because I heard the author on RadioLab, in a fascinating story about the neurodevelopments of babies. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my hopes. Fernyhough is a developmental psychologist and the book promised to combine his own experiences with the science behind the first few years of a child's life. Unfortunately, it ended up being far too much memoir and far too little science for my tastes. He is a pretty good writer, but I have read plenty of bet...more
Overall, an enjoyable read, and I particularly liked the direct quotes from conversations he had with his daughter. At times I was impatient with the author's philosophizing when I thought he should be focusing on the science behind his observations, which seem glossed over (particularly toward the end of the book following a somewhat dramatic event). This guy writes a lot about feelings and spirituality for a scientist. But to be fair, other people might enjoy the book because of the focus on t...more
Had to return to the library, but enjoyed the first few chapters that I read. This book stands out from the others of this ilk because the author assumes that the reader has a brain, so many of these books spoon-feed science. The most useful insight I learned was that young children don't have internal monologues. Instead, the verbalizing one hears is the child processing information. So when your child touches the forbidden object and says "no", he isn't talking to you, but rememb...more
A child development psychologist combines personal observations of his own daughter with discoveries from experiments on brain development. He tries to answer the question, what is it like to be a baby? His writing style is comfortable and not forced. It was a pleasure to read.
I came into this book with certain expectations. I was expecting a light, anecdotal, informative book about child development from birth to toddler years-- an expectation based on an interview I heard with the author on Radio Lab (aired on my local NPR station). The reality is that this book is more a personal memoir of a man raising his daughter with his musings on her development through the filter of his research and studies. It lacked the lightness and the generic fun that I really enjoyed i...more
Babies! What are they thinking? Apparently they probably have a big problem with synesthesis.
Pam
is currently reading it
starting to think i like the premise of this more than the execution
Sweet and pop-sciency. I liked it.
Kathryn
marked it as to-read
Hum. Awaiting the reviews...
I didn't finish this book. I went in excited to read about the neuro-development of babies. This book contains more philosophy than hard science.
Honestly, I read this book at night before bed, and that was good. The science sections really put me out. He romanticizes his child a little more than I can relate to, but overall, he had an interesting perspective as a parent and a scientist.
Provides an interesting summary of the major lessons babies and toddlers have to learn - language, mind-reading, concepts of time, self and otherness, which things in the world can act with intention, etc.
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More facile than I expected. Feelgood stuff, little new here.
Maybe a bit more memoir and less science than I was looking for - it would have been interesting to know more about many of the studies mentioned. The whole book has a bit of a sad wistful feel. Interesting tidbits here and there.
Kate
rated it
Recommends it for:
brain enthusiasts
Recommended to Kate by:
Rd hold shelf
Shelves:
sciences
In infancy, we are absent from our memories. We can live, but we can not yet relive.
For me, it will be a particular kind of wistfulness: that warm, anxious desolation that comes from leaving something you love.
For me, it will be a particular kind of wistfulness: that warm, anxious desolation that comes from leaving something you love.
A little heavier on the fatherly reflections of his amazing daughter than it was on the actual scientific observations. It didn't draw me in as much as I thought it would.
Well-written, but not half as interesting as a developmental psych textbook. I was really looking forward to this and was disappointed by how little meat there was.
Like most narrative nonfiction, could have used some editing. I petered out 50 pages from the end, as usual, and had to return it to the library. A good read, though.
Simply amazing... if the library ever lets me have it again, I will do another read!
I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
So far... very sciency, but good.
Laura
is currently reading it
Katie
marked it as to-read
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Sky
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Kaitlin
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