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So to test this we used a machine that we have called the Blicket Detector.
为了证明这个观点，我们用了一个叫做玩具侦探的仪器。
This is a box that lights up and plays music when you put some things on it and not others.
如果你在这个箱子上放一些东西，其它的上面不放，那它可以发光还伴有音乐。
And using this very simple machine, my lab and others have done dozens of studies showing just how good babies are at learning about the world.
用这个简单的仪器，我的实验和其它实验做了几十项研究，证明了小孩子们在理解世间万物上是多么得聪明。
Let me mention just one that we did with Tumar Kushner, my student.
我举一个例子，一个和我学生图玛库什纳做的实验。
If I showed you this detector, you would be likely to think to begin with that the way to make the detector go would be to put a block on top of the detector.
单看这个仪器，你也许觉得，让它开始运作的方式是将一块积木摆在上面。
But actually, this detector works in a bit of a strange way.
但这个仪器其实有点奇怪。
Because if you wave a block over the top of the detector, something you wouldn't ever think of to begin with, the detector will actually activate two out of three times.
因为你如果在仪器的上方摇摆一块积木三次，很多人一开始都不会这样做，那这个仪器会被启动两次。
Whereas, if you do the likely thing, put the block on the detector, it will only activate two out of six times.
然而，如果你把积木摆在仪器的上面六次，那只有两次会启动。
So the unlikely hypothesis actually has stronger evidence. It looks as if the waving is a more effective strategy than the other strategy.
所以说看似不大可能发生的假设，其实有更有力的证据。摇摆看起来比其它方法更有效。
So we did just this; we gave four year-olds this pattern of evidence, and we just asked them to make it go.
我们做了这样的实验；给了4岁的孩子这个线索，然后问他们怎么才能启动仪器。
And sure enough, the four year-olds used the evidence to wave the object on top of the detector.
这些孩子当然选择用我们提供的线索，将手中的东西对着仪器摇。
Now there are two things that are really interesting about this. The first one is, again, remember, these are four year-olds.
实验过程中有两个有趣的发现。首先，记住这些孩子只有四岁。
They're just learning how to count. But unconsciously, they're doing these quite complicated calculations that will give them a conditional probability measure.
他们才刚刚学会数数。但是在没有意识的情况下，他们会用复杂的计算来算出条件机率。
And the other interesting thing is that they're using that evidence to get to an idea, get to a hypothesis about the world, that seems very unlikely to begin with.
第二个有趣的发现是，他们会用提供的线索来寻找一个观点，对世界定一个假设，一个不太能站得住脚的假设。
And in studies we've just been doing in my lab, similar studies, we've show that four year-olds are actually better at finding out an unlikely hypothesis than adults are when we give them exactly the same task.
在我实验室里的类似研究，我们发现4岁的小孩在相同的任务下，比大人更擅长找那个不大可能发生的假设。
So in these circumstances, the children are using statistics to find out about the world,
在这些情况下，小孩子用统计来了解世界，
but after all, scientists also do experiments, and we wanted to see if children are doing experiments.
但科学家会做实验。所以我们想知道小孩会不会也在做实验。
When children do experiments we call it "getting into everything" or else "playing."
小孩做的实验我们称它为“尝试每一种可能” 或者是“玩一玩。”
