Possible Worlds Why Do Children Attend By Alain De Botton

Often times as human, we reflect constantly on our actions and past experiences. Sometimes, we regret our bad habits and try to change the ways we act towards certain experiences in life. As one tries to change their bad habits, they start to realize that their actions were a result of something that effected them in life. In “Breaking Habits” by Alain de Botton, the author talks about exploring one’s surroundings and looking at life with a new set of eyes. De Botton writes about the many benefits of traveling by yourself, which helps break one’s bad habits. In “Possible Worlds: Why Do Children Pretend” by Alison Gopnik, the author talks about children and adults understanding the past and using it to help one later in life. Understanding

Gopnik continues her article about children using their past to shape their future. She introduces the topic of causal understanding. Causal understanding includes the understanding the relationship between cause and effect. When people understand the relationship between cause and effect, it can allow them the change the process of habituation. Learning what goes wrong in life, can help assist breaking bad habits. Gopnik wrote, “Causal understanding lets you deliberately do things that change the world in a particular way. We might simply have had the ability to track the world as it unfolded around us” (Gopnik 172). Gopnik shows that understanding why thing happen in life helps break bad habits, When people have bad habits, one usually uses self-contemplation to see what they can improve in life. The author De Botton uses causal understanding to help propel reversing the processing of habitation. Before De Botton embarks on his journey he notices all of the things that have held him back from looking at his community differently. Once he realizes all that he has done wrong, he starts to look at things from a new perspective. De Botton used causal understanding to see the relationship of that he has done wrong and the effect of the things that he has done wrong. De Botton wrote, “ I had imposed a grid interest on the street, which left no

Gopnik’s article also talks heavily about children experiments that include them learning things without any clear instruction. When children are given no clear instruction, they often use trial and error to figure things out. Children are able to use their cognitive processes to see what is beneficial to them. Not only children but adults also use this approach to learn new things. Gopnik wrote, “Simple trial and error, trying different actions until one succeeds, is actually often a very effective way of getting along in the world. But anticipating future possibilities lets us plan in this other more insightful way- using our heads instead of our hands” (Gopnik 167). Gopnik sees that both children and adults have the ability use trial and error to learn new things about themselves. When children use trial and error, they are using it learn and explore new possibilities. After de Botton embarks on his journey, he becomes fully aware that traveling alone is very beneficial. Traveling alone has more benefits than traveling with a group of people. His room travel helps him learn that exploring new things is a trial and error process. De Botton wrote, “ We become taken up with adjusting ourselves to the companion’s questions and remarks, we have to make ourselves seem more normal than good for curiosity… I had the freedom to act a little weirdly” (De Botton 64).