In the passage, it is emphasized that during the process of weaning children generally become very delicate
parents have difficulty knowing what to feed the child
the child's capacities go backwards for a while rather than forwards
the child's interest is centered most intensely in the mother
the child must be provided with another pleasure so that the adjustment is made easier
The writer states that it's usually the parent that surrenders to the child's desire for an unpleasant substitute
when weaning is done forcefully, it's most commonly substituted for by thumb-sucking
the parent should ask someone more experienced for help during the process of weaning
the more emotional the child, the more intense his desire for breast-feeding
the parent should be patient with the child even if he becomes rather irritable
The writer points out that though it is virtually always ignored, the food the child is given during weaning should be delicious enough to satisfy his appetite
the spiritual effect of weaning is lifelong
breast-feeding should be lengthened as long as possible
the substitute for weaning should be left to the child's choice
the child shouldn't be forced to develop new capabilities during weaning
16 THE COMPUTER The computer is basically a device for ingesting, judging, and otherwise processing or usefully modifying knowledge. Thus it enlarges brainpower in the same way that other man-made machines enlarge muscle power. Like man, the computer expresses knowledge in terms of symbols; man's symbols are letters and numbers, and the machine's symbols are electromagnetic impulses that represent letters and numbers. Although man must usually instruct or program the machine minutely, its chief present advantage is that it can manipulate symbols a million times faster than a man with pencil and paper, and can make calculations in a few minutes that might take man alone a century. An expert has remarked that the difference between doing a calculation by hand and by computer is the difference between having one dollar and having a million. Sometimes the difference is infinite; only a computer can calculate swiftly enough to analyze the data from a satellite, or to enable man to control the flight of a missile.