Big brain evolution: changes in sapiens skull shape;addendum (Evolution)

by David Turell , Friday, February 23, 2018, 21:58 (2463 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

Tony: Sometimes the articles can be rather misleading. For example, teens 15-19 have a mortality rate "35%" higher that those in the 10-14 range. Still, that is only 60:100,000....It doesn't seem so dramatic when you look at it that way. Given that they actually have a fairly low death rate, are they really making poorer decisions than their "more mature" counterparts, or are they simply making different ones. How many adults do drugs, drink and drive, put on their makeup while driving etc. Etc.

I do not doubt for a second d that they view risk differently, but I chalk the majority of that up to a simple lack of experience. Growing up in an impoverished community, kids being more mature than your average middle class 25yo was not uncommon. In short, while I do not disagree that the brain changes over time, or even that Teens assess risk differently, I think that is more an issue of life experience than purely hard wire issues.

But please recognize that brain studies have shown wiring from the amygdala (emotions) to the prefrontal cortex (judgment) as well as the prefrontal cortex itself are late developmental arrivals.