in fact, this one, the critical period for language has embedded in it many critical periods for lening of the sounds of the language, the wording of the language, the grammar of the language. >> rose: what is it about the brain that enables it to learn language? >> well, that's the question, charlie. so no one debates this curve. but everyone is debating what's the cause of that function. why does it work in that way? why does the baby brain work in a way that the adult brain doesn't? so the classic debates-- they've gone on for centuries. so currently, noam chomsky from m.i.t. and the late b.f. skinner from harvard debated very different tasks, very different takes on this debate. chomsky arguing the structure is built in the brain, and skinner saying "we're born a blank slate." so what's new, what's happened? well, what's happened is that the scientists got into the picture and started to actually study the brains and minds of children look at their skills. and that's produced an entirely new view that isn't either of those canonical opposites. and i can illustrate it by taking one a