“What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.”

What might this quote from Sigmund Freud mean to us as children’s writers? Do we stoke the already radiant intelligence until it is white hot? And how do we do this with our feeble intelligence? Do fantasy writers have a greater responsibility than, say, picture book writers? And what about YA — is the teenager already well on his way to feeble mentality and how can ‘Stoner & Spaz’ or ‘Wednesday Wars’ delay that?
Is there a chance that kids get tired of radiating and just want to sit down with a good book? As a feeble adult, I sure do.
How about those of us who write funny books. How can that contribute to radiance?
And if a child’s intelligence is so radiant, can it be etiolated by chatty critters with nothing to say or locomotives spouting feel good homilies?
I just have the questions, friends. I leave the answers to you.