. The two of us sat in his office surrounded by toys, puzzles, optical illusions, and life-affirming posters.
“Is that because he’s so young? Like how kids learn a new language without trying?”
Marty Currier tipped his head to one side. “Plasticity has been documented at every stage of life. Habit impedes us as we age as much as any change in innate capacity. These days we like to say that ‘mature’ is just another name for ‘lazy.’ ”
“What makes him so good at the training, then?”
“He’s a distinctive boy, or he wouldn’t be in the training in the first place.” He picked up a Rubik’s dodecahedron from his desk and toyed with it. His eyes turned absent and I knew
Bewilderment
Richard Powers