Response to “Beautiful Brains”

David Dobbs, an accomplished writer and common author for The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, and the Atlantic, really takes an in depth look at the teenage brain and mind in his piece “Beautiful Brains.”  He leads off by introducing a situation that he had to deal with regarding his son.  Dobbs recalls the time that he received a phone call from his son who was in prison for reckless driving, and although he was willing to accept the charges and understood his misdoings while speeding, his son did not enjoy the title of being a “reckless driver” placed on him.  This got Dobbs to thinking and leads into his main point which deals with the conflict that teenagers face in which they knowingly understand the risks they take, yet do them anyway.  The essay overall is a large psychological review of the teen brain verse an adult one and the differences in the two.  In reviewing a study done by University of Pittsburgh professor Beatriz Luna, where children, adolescents, and adults were told to resist the urge to look at a blinking light, it is noted that teens, “…used certain areas of the brain less often than adults and more readily gave in to the impulse to look at the flickering light…” (159).  However when a reward is offered for their efforts they more readily use these areas and will score higher.  Dobbs uses this to explain the reason as to why teens moods and behaviors are often inconsistent throughout the day and vary over time.  He explains how risk taking will often increase in teens and adolescents that can affect them later in life, and uses examples, such as, alcohol experimentation and drug use.  But contrary to what people may think teens actually understand these risks fully and just as much as adults do, but the reason as to why they do it is because “…they value the reward more heavily than adults do.” (162).  Whereas adults won’t change their habits or try to impress their friends while they’re in their presence, teens do, and this is where the trouble branches from.  Teens want to look cooler and better than the people they’re with and therefore make stupid decisions in the process.  While they do enjoy trying to impress their friends, they find equally important the information and experiences that their parents have to share with them, and that’s why it’s important that parents talk to their kids to help improve their brain development.  In his closing Dobbs leaves his reader with a request to take advantage of the prolonged development of the frontal lobe region  “…when a brain area lays down myelin a sort of crucial period of learning…” (166).  That it’s better off that we don’t smarten up sooner in life because if we did then we would “…end up dumber.” (166).

I found Dobbs’ essay to be very interesting and I was able to learn a great deal from it.  I always knew that the teen and early adult brain was still developing, just not the the degree in which he explains in his piece.  When reading about the case study where Beatriz Luna reviewed whether or not teens would be able to resist the urge to look at the flashing light I began to think about myself.  I wondered if I was given this take if I would attempt to look at it or not.  Then on the topic of how teens are often more likely trying to impress their peers while in their presence I began to review my own driving habits.  Thinking about whether or not I’m found speeding more and driving recklessly when I’m in the car with my friends verses my parents or family.  That I shouldn’t really have to prove anything to them and try to impress them because they’re already my friends and I shouldn’t risk their or my life just to gain some extra brownie points.  Overall the essay was very informative and helpful in understanding why some of my peers act the way they do and do the things they do.  That maybe my front lobes are developing more rapidly than their’s are and it’s not so much that they’re acting foolishly for no reason, but simply because their brains are still developing and need to get some last minute immaturity out of their system before that becomes a wrongdoing.   That I shouldn’t be so critical of my peers, and should learn to be more accepting of their acts…to a degree of course though.

The Complex Teenage Mind

Are teens really stupid? No, they’re not. Teenagers just haven’t fully developed their brains. According to Dobbs’ “Beautiful Brains”, the reason teenagers these days are doing dangerous and impulsive things is because their brains are still developing. They’re still in the process of becoming adults. However, the qualities of “angst, idiocy, and haste; impulsiveness, selfishness, and reckless bumbling” (Dobbs), shouldn’t be associated with adolescence. These traits are merely the ones that we recognize easiest because these are there the reasons that teenagers annoy us or concern us. However, they aren’t all bad. These traits are reasons why teenagers are so eager to make friends, take risks, and look for something usual or surprising. Their thirsts for attention and rewards are fueled by such traits, but to teenagers, what they get out of these dangerous behaviors are worth the risk; unlike adults, teens weigh risk and reward differently, which may be the reason why adults view teens as impulsive, risky, and immature.

I have to agree with Dobbs on the points that were made in the article. Adults don’t always see eye to eye with teenagers. Adults tend to be more conservative with their actions: over-weighing the risks, while under-weighing the rewards. The stereotype for teenagers is impulsive and immature. Immaturity, however, can be viewed as being risky. Typically, people who seem to have no consideration for the dangers or consequences of one’s actions can be viewed as being immature, but also risky. The teenage brain is still developing and is undergoing “upgrade”, but like Dobbs says in the article, “if we smartened up sooner, we’d end up dumber.” Life is all about learning from your mistakes and improving yourself through this process. If we “smartened” up sooner, where would we learn these valuable lessons from? We never really stop learning in life, but through the mistakes we’ve made growing up, we can offer advice to our children, and hopefully they could learn something from it too.

Response to “Beautiful Brains”

David Dobbs essay, “Beautiful Brains,” discusses the reasons and the importance of certain traits of teenagers. It’s always been believed that teenagers are just trouble and incapable of making good decisions, but Dobbs claims that this is just the natural urge for teenagers to take risks and be “sensation seeking.” He explains this by describing several experiments that reveal the difference between teen and adult behavior. He claims that teenagers tend to have more risky behavior because they think more about the reward of taking a risk rather than the dangers. And this natural tendency is exactly what’s beautiful about the brain; it causes teenagers to be “quite possibly the most fully, crucially adaptive human beings around.” It’s this behavior that inspired people to try new things and branch out. Without this, people would not start their own life and try something different; the human race wouldn’t be as successful if they were too cautious.

The title of the essay, “Beautiful Brains,” itself is a way for Dobbs to emphasize his view on how incredible the brain is. He is specifically referring to brains during the adolescence stage as being “beautiful.” When many people claim teenagers as being stupid, not thinking, and not using their brain, Dobbs is explaining how fascinating their behaviors are, because they are using their brains. Dobbs introduces the idea of adolescence brain development through an anecdote; he begins with an entertaining story of how his son got a speeding ticket. This personal story served as a way to draw the reader in and grab their attention. He then transitioned this story into how it made him curious about how and why teenagers have a tendency to be risky and daring. Throughout his essay, Dobbs uses logic to explain the brain development of humans through their adolescence stage. He refers to multiple tests that prove how teenagers are more likely to take risks than adults. He also uses rhetorical questions to get the reader to ponder on certain concepts, he asks, “So if teens think as well as adults do and recognize risk just as well, why do they take more chances?” He proceeds to answer the question by explaining how teenagers focus on the rewards rather than the negative consequences. And while this may appear to be a very bad thing, it’s actually a very positive aspect of human nature. Without a little danger, humans would not be flourishing like they are. Dobbs concludes his essay by addressing how adolescence is the perfect time for humans to be risky; it gives them the chance to discover new, incredible things, while learning from their mistakes and mistakes of others.