Episode 45: Genie the Feral Child, Part Two - Victor of Aveyron

Long before the discovery of Susan "Genie" Wiley, feral children like Victor of Aveyron fascinated various thinkers and illuminates, because they offered a glimpse of what it means to be a human without society. What modern neuroscience reveals about people who grow up without language is that it permanently alters their cognitive development in profound and unusual ways. From cases like those of Victor and Genie, we have also learned that fulfilling our eagerness to understand ourselves often comes at the expense of the most vulnerable.