--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s not that children are little…" description: "\"“It’s not that children are little scientists — it’s that scientists are big children. Scientists actually are the few people who as adults get to have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/alison-gopnik-4163_children_it-s-not-that-children-are-little-scient_3126146.jpg" --- # It’s not that children are little scientists — it’s that… ![“It’s not that children are little scientists — it’s that scientists are big children. Scientists actually are the few people who as adults get to have this protected time when they can just explore, play, figure out what the world is like.” quote by Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/alison-gopnik-4163_children_it-s-not-that-children-are-little-scient_3126146.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/alison-gopnik-4163_children_it-s-not-that-children-are-little-scient_3126146.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/alison-gopnik-4163_children_it-s-not-that-children-are-little-scient_3126146.jpg) > ““It’s not that children are little scientists — it’s that scientists are big children. Scientists actually are the few people who as adults get to have this protected time when they can just explore, play, figure out what the world is like.”” [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists retain childlike curiosity, making exploration a protected adult activity. **In simple terms:** Scientists are like big kids. Key Takeaway Embrace playful curiosity in work. Themes science creativity playfulness Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - research labs - education - personal projects - problem solving Key Concepts developmental psychology innovation learning Questions to Reflect On - How can you create protected time for exploration? - What does play mean in professional settings? A Different Perspective Not all scientists may have the freedom to play. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-scientists-1427484/) [Little Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-scientists-2349035/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) [Scientists Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-big-5509386/) [Scientists Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists-scientists-447623/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-never-had-problems-with-my-fellow-scientists-scientists-are-a/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Scientists are scientists. They're not really in a position to speak clearly on the moral dimensions, and they're not really comfortable doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-oreskes/scientists-are-scientists-they-re-not-really-in-a-position-to-speak/) [Naomi Oreskes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-oreskes/) > [As every parent knows, children begin life as uninhibited, unabashed explorers of the unknown. From the time we can walk and talk, we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/as-every-parent-knows-children-begin-life-as-uninhibited-unabashed/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Words of wisdom are spoken by children at least as often as scientists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-newman/words-of-wisdom-are-spoken-by-children-at-least-as-often-as-scientists/) [James Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-newman/) > [Children are just little scientists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/children-are-just-little-scientists/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [We agreed with him in principal - we were little scientists, born and bred. But children robbed of love will dwell on magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/we-agreed-with-him-in-principal-we-were-little-scientists-born-and/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. If I do this, what will happen? is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. 'If I do this, what will happen?' is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what-2/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Children discover and verify their theories in quite the same way that scientists do: through experimentation. 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But if you compare male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/overall-female-scientists-have-fewer-resources-than-male-scientists/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/i-swam-with-my-first-shark-in-the-1980s-i-was-20-miles-off-the-coast/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) ## More by Alison Gopnik > [Philosophers and psychologists have long puzzled over the question of how we know as much as we do despite our limited experiences. One way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/philosophers-and-psychologists-have-long-puzzled-over-the-question-of/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Adults often assume that most learning is the result of teaching and that exploratory, spontaneous learning is unusual. But actually, spontaneous learning is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/adults-often-assume-that-most-learning-is-the-result-of-teaching-and/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Adults tend to think they have much free will. Kids younger than six are less sure. They may be more realistic!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/adults-tend-to-think-they-have-much-free-will-kids-younger-than-six/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [From an evolutionary perspective children are, literally, designed to learn. Childhood is a special period of protected immaturity. It gives the young breathing time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/from-an-evolutionary-perspective-children-are-literally-designed-to/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [We don't wife our husbands and we don't child our parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/we-don-t-wife-our-husbands-and-we-don-t-child-our-parents/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [There is a tension between our desire to get our kids to turn out a particular way versus letting them develop to be their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/there-is-a-tension-between-our-desire-to-get-our-kids-to-turn-out-a/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“Instead, it may be that experience itself has changed our brains so that we perceive and interpret the world in a certain way. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/instead-it-may-be-that-experience-itself-has-changed-our-brains-so/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Caring for children has always been one of the deepest and most satisfying things that a human being does, and yet it is hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/caring-for-children-has-always-been-one-of-the-deepest-and-most/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Imaginary friends are one of the weirder forms of pretend play in childhood. But the research shows that imaginary friends actually help children understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/imaginary-friends-are-one-of-the-weirder-forms-of-pretend-play-in/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“Like their parents, the Korean children used more verbs than the English-speaking kids, while the English-speaking kids used more nouns. But in addition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/like-their-parents-the-korean-children-used-more-verbs-than-the/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“We decided to become development psychologists and study children because there aren't any Martians. These brilliant beings with the little bodies and big heads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/we-decided-to-become-development-psychologists-and-study-children/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Each new generation of children grows up in the new environment its parents have created, and each generation of brains becomes wired in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/each-new-generation-of-children-grows-up-in-the-new-environment-its/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [I'm the oldest of six children and I had my own first baby when I was 23. So I've always been interested in babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/i-m-the-oldest-of-six-children-and-i-had-my-own-first-baby-when-i-was/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“‎Literature is the equivalent of the climate scientist’s computer simulations: set up some new starting conditions, run the whole complicated process and see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/literature-is-the-equivalent-of-the-climate-scientist-s-computer/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [The brain knows the real secret of seduction, more effective than even music and martinis. Just keep whispering, 'Gee, you are really special' to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/the-brain-knows-the-real-secret-of-seduction-more-effective-than-even/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) [Explore all 115 Alison Gopnik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. 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