kottke.org

...is a weblog about the liberal arts 2.0 edited by Jason Kottke since March 1998 (archives). You can read about me and kottke.org here. If you've got questions, concerns, or interesting links, send them along.

The deep connection between marshmallows and babies

Is everything connected with everything else? Not everyone thinks so. But that not everyone doesn't include Benjamin Cohen. In I Dream in Malcolm Gladwell, Cohen draws an unlikely parallel between marshmallow melting and the science of pediatric nutrition.

In an age when children are born nearly every day in America, and most of them to parents who have had intercourse sometime during the year prior, physicians have become troubled that once the children are born, they seem to lack the ability to feed themselves. The two researchers have been working for years on a study that may provide insight to the problem. Infants, their studies are showing, aren't very smart. Like melting marshmallows, it appears that breastfeeding is an unusual process difficult to understand. In this case, W- and S- believe, that process may involve both breasts and milk.

It all sounds so obvious when he puts it that way.

By Jason Kottke    Jan 7, 2009 at 11:48 am    benjamincohen   Malcolm Gladwell

kottke.org, quickly...

The best way to get a sense of what kottke.org is all about is to head to the front page or check out some random entries from the archives. Follow kottke.org via RSS or Twitter.

Want to share your something special with kottke.org's readers? Sponsor the RSS feed for a week!

Looking for work?

Recommended sites

evhead    Vulture    Omit Needless Words    Morning News    Q Daily News    FlickrBlog    tecznotes    nickbaum.com    scoboco    I did not know that yesterday!    Typographica    Play with the Machine    onfocus.com    Heavy Backpack    plasticbag.org    Cynical-C Blog    Capn Design    gladwell.com    Blackbeltjones/work    NYT Science