Weird News

[ZenGum]

Bleeding heart liberal pinko socialist here ... and ... agreed.

Too much distance, not enough people, public transport just isn't economically viable.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The nice thing about self drivers, if you cut them off, they will stop or evade you. You can't count on people to do that.

[orthodoc]

*sniff* *sniff* *rat*

[ZenGum]

Trap, transport and release?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Trap, transport and release?

shoot, shovel and shut up.

[ZenGum]

This could have gone in the Headlines thread, but the whole story is cool:

Far-Right Extremists Chased Through London by Women Dressed as Badgers

I am particularly heartened by the fact that while the BNP and EDL turned out about 50 people, the antifascists UAF and HNH turned out considerably more, and both were dwarfed by the protest against badger culling.

Turns out badger lovers tend to be antifascists too.

Young women dressed in fake fur were seen chasing doughty nationalist supporters down London's Whitehall as a large number of security forces in iridescent jackets looked on from police lines.

I can't find it now but there was also recently a situation where a dozen or so vaguely right wing types were protesting outside a mosque, so the Muslims put the kettle on and they all had a cup of tea and some biscuits and ended up playing soccer together.

[tw]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Turns out badger lovers tend to be antifascists too.

Wow. Wisconsin has fans even in London: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIyixC9NsLI
... and hate of snakes.

[ZenGum]

And to make it worse, the unicorn wasn’t even on holiday with us.

[footfootfoot]

Hawkins was captain of the soccer team and a top student at her Dawsonville, Georgia high school, but a shitty car surfer.

Takes one for the team in the Darwin Award competition.

[glatt]

Teens make stupid mistakes. Their brains aren't fully developed yet. I see stories like this and hope it won't be my kids in the future.

A local kid died last week doing a similar stunt with a skateboard holding on to a car. Tragic. We didn't know him, but we know a lot of people who did, and they were all really bummed.

[footfootfoot]

Hell yes. It's obvious that the job of a parent isn't over at 18. There is no 'child safety cap' for teenage activities other than vigilant and involved parents. I've read that the human brain isn't fully developed in the decision making areas until about the age of 25. I'd be willing to bet that 20,000 years ago (and earlier, obviously) lackadaisical parenting led to the culling of the herd with those types of parenting approaches. Now we have a whole new set of concerns to take the place of cougars, dire wolves, and other dangerous beasties.

It is sad.

The frontal lobes of the brain have been implicated in behavioral inhibition, the ability to control emotions and impulses. The frontal lobes are also thought to be the place where decisions about right and wrong, as well as cause-effect relationships are processed. In contrast, the amygdala is part of the limbic system of the brain and is involved in instinctive “gut” reactions, including “fight or flight” responses. Lower activity in the frontal lobe could lead to poor control over behavior and emotions, while an overactive amygdala may be associated with high levels of emotional arousal and reactionary decision-making.
The results from the McLean study suggest that while adults can to use rational decision making processes when facing emotional decisions, adolescent brains are simply not yet equipped to think through things in the same way. For example, when deciding whether to ride in a car driven by a drunk friend, an adult can usually put aside her desire to conform and is more likely to make the rational decision against drunk driving. However, a teenager’s immature frontal lobes may not be capable of such a coolly rational approach, and the emotional feelings of friendship may be likely to win the battle. As Dr. Yurgelun-Todd told U.S. News, “Good judgment is learned, but you can’t learn it if you don’t have the necessary hardware.”

[tw]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

Hell yes.

These concepts were discussed in previous threads: Creative Gun Control Proposal

Originally Posted by tw

... those who need unrestricted big guns typically act like adult children. An adult, using the brain that forms after age 16, would not post personal attacks. Adults reply with logic; not with the emotional brain that characterizes children.

The emotional (adults who are still children) will adamently deny that reality.

Science also says some adults never form / use their pre-frontal cortex. ... Children and adults who are still children can be told how to think. Will reply with anger, emotion, and cheapshots when manipulation is exposed.

And elsewhere in:
Guns don't kill people ....
Watching the Republicans - Runaway Train
Creative Gun Control Proposal

Originally Posted by tw

"Blue you ignorant slut ..." is not from a stable adult. Unfortunately many who post emotional - who demonstrate no prefrontal cortex - also need big guns. To defend against a government conspiring to ... well, what exactly is government conspiring to do? ...

Just so you do not get confused by upwelling anger. Where are statistics that prove we all need big guns? Where, using hard facts, is an actual threat?

Fears and other emotions are found when a prefrontal cortex has not yet learned to controls a child's emotional brain. This function does not appear until after 16. In some, it does not develop until 24. The text books also say some never fully form a prefrontal cortex. Then facts and numbers remains illusive and rrelevant to emotions inspired by advertising and other brainwashing methods.

This discussion continues farther in science and law. Does someone whose prefrontal cortex never fully developed or clearly shows signs of damage (and therefore subject to emotional outbursts)- is it really Constitutional to apply the death penalty to such a person? Since an adult without or with a minimal prefrontal cortex is an adult who is still a child. Therefore entertains their emotions rather than think logically.

And finally:

Originally Posted by tw

Age has more to do with it. In particular, how a prefrontal cortex grows. With age, we think less with our emotions (those lower level functions that children use). And more from a brain lobe less influenced by emotion. It is the process of becoming an adult. Or more adult.

... You were called old. The emotional would feel insulted. You were called older. And the underlying science says why that is good. An adult who is still more of a child would be insulted. An adult thinking logically saw what was only posted in that paragraph.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by tw

is it really Constitutional to apply the death penalty to such a person?

I think the overwhelming majority of people in prison and on death row suffer from poor impulse control.

[Griff]

That is very likely. I spend my days with a lot of children who have poor impulse control. It can usually be learned, but less likely if a child's life is chaotic. Don't let the frontal lobe argument be a cop-out for poor parenting. Teens will do dumb stuff but they can usually be parented to a point that keeps them from becoming a societal nuisance.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Griff

Teens will do dumb stuff but they can usually be parented to a point that keeps them from becoming a societal nuisance.

Before 16, kids are taught and therefore memorize what is and is not acceptable. The parent trains them similar to how a dog is trained. That process is completely different from another brain function that has decisions (and impulse control) from logical thinking (often referred to as higher brain functions).

Ironically, ScienceNow (on PBS) is replaying reports on how animal and child brains operate. How, for example, a child (who later has lower SAT scores) could not control an impulse to take one piece of candy. Decision was easy. Eat one candy now. Or get many candies in a few minutes. Only children who later demonstrated better formed intelligence were able to wait.