Re: [Phys-l] OFF-TOPIC: Basic scientific literacy

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

> 2.  What is the ``science'' behind teen mortality on our highways?  I can
> only guess at  this, but her's my guess.  The human brain does not develop
> its reasoning capacities until about age 25.  Up until that time, young
> humans merely imaitate their elders and other objects that can be copied -
> from real life or fiction.  Understanding of human intellectual devolpment
> may play an important role in preserving the lives of our young people.
Reasoning capacity is not necessarily developed at 25+.  There are many
stages before that, and what develops at 25+ is the brain development
necessary for an ability to see and appreciate consequences of one's
actions.  But the most important development is at age 10+ when the
necessary brain development for the Piagetian formal operational stage is
acquired.  But the reasoning patterns are acquired through physical and
social interaction once the pre-frontal lobes have gone through the rapid
development.  Actually, the ability to dampen inappropriate impulsive
behaviour is associated with the development at 10+, but not all individuals
achieve that necessary development.

The reason for the teen mortality is not just due to development, but is
also in large part due to training.  The driver training just has the
students build the rudiments of what is needed to be a driver.  Even safe
driving courses use didactic methods which do not change basic behavior or
attitudes.  You can be told what to do, but that seldom produces the desired
behavior.  Here PER and science education as well as psychology speak to
possible solutions.  The students need to have both hands on and minds on
experience of how to be a safe driver.  Psychology has had great success
with cognitive therapy where the patient has to draw their own conclusions,
in the same way that PER requires students to draw their own conclusions
rather than being told.  Incidentally cognitive therapy can induce the same
brain changes as drugs used in treating OCD or depression.

I understand there are programs where students are actually put into various
situations which normally would be dangerous, but are done safely on skid
pads.  Simulators could also be useful.  These types of programs apparently
change behavior.  Intensive training can work!

So it is both a scientific and a social problem.  Youngsters must often
drive in this country to get places like school or work.  In addition the US
has some very unenlightened attitudes toward alcohol.  Prohibition of
drinking has just made getting drunk more attractive.  Mix the need for cars
with the attractiveness of forbidden alcohol and the lack of good training,
and you have a dangerous situation.  And schools often have anti-alcohol
programs, but again they are didactic which does not change attitudes.

So getting back to reasoning ability, it is not developed automatically by
age related brain growth.  It is a combination of brain growth, and
experience.  We now know that experience is absolutely vital for developing
reasoning ability, and the evidence is that the necessary experience is not
being adequately provided in school.  This is why SES is the biggest
predictor of success.  And the age 25+ development does not automatically
click in the necessary reasoning to prevent accidents.  Indeed the idea that
reasoning ability is automatically acquired was mistakenly drawn from
Piaget's research.  Piaget knew quite well that social and physical
interaction were also necessary.  He did see evidence at various ages, but
he studied a fairly homogeneous population of "advantaged" children.  The
idea that a fixed age confers reasoning ability automatically is a
"misconception".

The evidence now is very firm that what you do can change your basic brain
structures, and it is possible to grow new connections.  A good example here
is that Downes syndrome children have been given therapy that produces
NORMAL intelligence.  Even late in life it is possible for your brain to
change and "grow".  There are examples of stroke victims who have recovered
through intensive therapy.  The brain reorganized to compensate for the
missing damaged portions.

I was working with a teacher (30+ age) who proceded to juggle some hooked
masses.  And of course the inevitable happened some of them dropped,
damaging the hooks.  This is a person in their 30s who still did not foresee
the possible consequences of his action.  So age did not confer the
necessary foresight.

In sum, intelligence is learned not just automatically developed.  So
non-destructive behavior can also be learned.  The education research needs
to be applied to programs designed to train teenagers!!!!!!

John M. Clement
Houston, TX