The recent study from Yale "Social evaluation by preverbal infants" published in Nature is being heralded by mainstream media as a major breakthrough that will advance understanding of human behavior.

"Babies are good judges of character long before they learn to speak, according to a new study. Infants as young as six months preferred characters which helped rather than hindered others in a simple puppet show," wrote a NewScientist journalist.

The surprising thing to me is that this is news to so many. Of course babies can "judge character." Humans are born with many abilities and senses for a reason. We can sense danger before we see it. When the hair raises on the back of a neck, it's the senses interpreting and responding to a potential

If two people repeat the same set of words to us, our internal reaction to that person will not be identical. There are chemicals, body language, and energy at play that will bring about a unique reaction.

On the other hand, individuals begin their re-education at birth. We are socially shaped to rely less on our instincts and perceptions and more on approved values and responses that are demonstrated in our communities, and reinforced through media.

Perhaps next week the big news will be that dogs can be trained to salivate when anticipating a reward.