Wonderbringers Newsletter with Monica Parker
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Hello Wonderseekers!
It’s easy to become hopeless when looking at the dog’s dinner adults have made of the world. But lately I have been seeing headlines about the amazing inventions, discoveries and initiatives by young people, and I can’t help but feel hopeful. There were the two young women who proved the 2000-year-old Pythagorean theorem. The pre-teen girl who developed a solar-powered backpack for homeless folks that charges an electric blanket for use in the evening. A high schooler invented a low-cost, mind-controlled prosthetic arm — most models cost $7,000, but his is only $300. And then there was the team of high schoolers who figured out how to safely remove dangerous black mold without toxic cleaners (in the fabulously named ArMOLDgeddon).
These discoveries aren’t just about luck or having time to noodle the problem (and it isn’t the Lynx body spray either). There are actually unique features to adolescent brains that make them particularly adept in certain areas.
Brain wiring: While adolescent brains have a less developed prefrontal cortex (meaning planning and emotional regulation aren’t quite fully baked - no surprise there), other areas are highly active, creating high plasticity and also a greater openness to new ideas.
Flexibility: Teenagers have greater flexibility in brain states, so they can switch between different parts of their brain more effectively than adults. They are also willing to explore different rules, not allowing assumptions to block explorations.
Daydreaming: The teenage brain still loves to daydream, but at this age, it is now linked to developing areas of the brain responsible for insight and divergent thinking. This coupling results in more original ideas.
Big-picture thinking: Adolescents are much more motivated by ‘why does it matter?’ or ‘why does this happen?’ rather than ‘what can I do with this knowledge?’ so they have stronger motivation for what is known as transcendent thinking. This bigger-picture perspective creates a bigger cognitive sandbox to make connections.
Unfixed identity: Adults have a fixed identity, so they may say, ‘I’m not an artist, so I can create this thing’ or ‘I’m not a scientist, so I can't research this idea’, but kids don’t. As one study put it, kids are more excited to ‘do science’ than ‘be scientists’. This gives them freedom to break the rules of those identities.
How can we encourage these superpowers in teens? And what can we learn from kids to help our older brains see the world and its problems in new, more hopeful ways?
Some wonderbringers for me this week:
Lyme disease often goes undetected when it's most treatable: These teens are working to change that.
Transcendent thinking boosts teen brains: Getting kids to reflect beyond the here and now may help their brain grow in ways that enhance life.
What neuroscience tells us about the teenage brain: New research now turns an old assumption on its head.
Give the gift of wonder this holiday season! During the month of December, I am offering Wonderbringers readers copies of The Power of Wonder for only $7 (US shipping included). This is more than half off from Amazon, so help me get some extra books out of my parents’ basement lol! Just respond to the newsletter and we’ll get it sorted for you.
With wonder,
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