Response to “Beautiful Minds”

An author and journalist, David Dobbs wrote a clear, reflective, and detailed essay on the development of the human brain during adolescence. In “Beautiful Minds”, Dobbs starts the essay with a personal anecdote. He tells a story about the time his oldest son called him to tell him that he was arrested for driving 113 miles per hour. Shocked at the time, Dobbs did not understand his teenager son’s irrational thinking of putting himself at risk for an unfortunate death. Using this anecdote, Dobbs enthralls the readers’ attention with a personal and interesting story and attempts to engage the readers by provoking them to think why teenagers tend to make decisions that endanger their lives.

It is evident that Dobb wrote this essay to educate the readers of all age about the teenage mind. “Beautiful Minds” was published in National Geographic which is an educational magazine that has intention to educate, inspire, and move readers with its stories, articles, essays, and pictures. In the essay, Dobbs explains the science behind how the brain becomes fully matured. Although he uses an abundance of scientific terms to describe the process of the development of the brain, he gives the definition for each term so the readers will not get lost in the bundle of words that they never seen before. Using researches and studies done by professors on the teenage brain, Dobbs unravels the mystery behind the thinking process of teenagers. Teens tend to “weigh risk versus reward differently” (162).  In this day of age, the death rate of teens has immensely increased every year. The reason is because teenagers have more and more access to drugs and alcohol. They want to be accepted amongst their peers and discover new sensations. It is a shame that without proper guidance, teenagers put themselves at risk of suffering from short and long term consequences.

In the end of the essay, Dobbs provides an idea to help parents guide their teenagers towards more of a positive and learning experience in their adolescence. Dobbs leaves hope to the readers by implying that teenagers aren’t lost causes just because their brain isn’t fully developed to make rational decisions. Parents should reach out and give personal advice and support to their children as they go through adolescence. Teenagers do not have to through the process to adulthood alone. With just enough independence and parental supervision, a teenager will have a higher chance to overcome adolescence and become responsible and rational adults.