For this Blog I chose to use the Nativism Theory, which is the idea that the mine produces ideas that are not derived from external sources, and that we have abilities that are innate and not learned, to relate to one of my life experiences.
From as early as I can remember, I have always loved cars and just about every single thing related to them. My grandparents and parents never ceased to tell me that by the age of 5 I was naming cars by their respective make and model. Over the years and approaching my pre-teen stage, I really took time to pay attention as to how the car moved when my parents drove. I never really watched my parents drive because you couldn’t see their feet interacting with the pedals, and they both steered differently so it would’ve only confused me more if I watched.
During the summer after my 12th birthday, I did something no child should ever do; I took my dad’s car for a joyride. Although completely horrifying at first, I quickly got the hang of driving; this was due to the fact that I had paid attention as to how the vehicle interacted with the road and its surroundings, in respective to the distance between the car and other obstacles.
I believe that Nativism played a large part in me being able to efficiently operate a vehicle at such a young age and with no formal or tangible experience behind the wheel. I feel as though I had the innate ability to do this due to my level of spatial ability, and these are things that are typically not learned. Nativism has played a role in a lot of other experiences I have gone through in my life, but this one is most definitely the most relevant. If one can accomplish an arduous task without any formal training whatsoever, Nativism is most definitely playing a part; it is what the mind is already capable of, we are just unlocking it’s many unknown abilities.
Interesting way to relate nativism to your real life experiences. Very impressive that you could drive by yourself without any instruction at such a young age. I could barely drive when I was old enough! I totally see how since you had never driven before that you seemed to have an innate ability to drive without being taught. However, I think the fact that you had spent so much time observing your parents drive and surely taking mental notes the whole time there’s some evidence that this is learned behavior, not something one is born with. Learned behaviors such as tying your shoes or driving are things one makes a conscious decision to learn. They are not totally natural abilities. Learned behaviors can be picked up by watching someone else perform them, like riding a bike after watching your sibling or writing after watching someone else write.