If you've ever had to use an adolescent brain, you've probably noticed it doesn't work like the brains of normal people (like children or adults). It gets distracted easily, is prone to emotional overloads, takes way too many risks, and needs sooo much sleep! For this week's forum, we'll be looking at what's going on inside your skulls. Do you realize half the brain cells you were born with will die before you turn 25? It's okay, you weren't using them anyway (seriously).
Our speaker will be brain expert Jill Bolte Taylor (via video). Jill was the first TED speaker to have a talk go super-viral (this was when TED first started putting their talks on the web). In that talk, she describes how it felt to have a stroke where the left side of her brain kept shutting down and rebooting ( you can find it here if you're interested).
Resources.
- We'll be talking about the left brain vs the right brain. Use this test to see which one you are and pick up some handy tips when you get your results. Note your result so you can provide it in for the assignment below.
- What's going on in a teen's brain? Here's an article with some recent discoveries.
- As we learn more about how our brains develop, we're gaining better insight into the cause of teen suicide, as explained here (it will ask you to subscribe, but there's a light gray "close" link in the subscribe box you can use to get rid of it).
- Are you a musician? If so, your brain might get lasting benefits from it (and it's not too late to start). See this article.