Teenagers

“No one feels another's grief, no one understands another's joy. People imagine they can reach one another. In reality they only pass each other” (Franz Schubert) When teenagers hit the teenage years nobody understands them, not even themselves.  Each kid has different hormonal changes that can make him or her very angry or emotional at one point, and the next very happy. They feel pressured by their parents at all times, and when they can’t take it any more they have out bursts. It is like their own parents don’t know them and treat them as if they are dumb or still kids.

This is the age when teenagers are trying or experimenting with different things like alcohol, and drugs. Many of their parents are afraid of this because they think that teenagers only cause trouble. Every kid wants their parents to understand them and their actions, but parents never listen. They assume that teens know or understand everything they tell them, but adolescents don’t, and that’s when the problems and fighting start.

            Every growing adolescent needs 9:30 hours of sleep everyday. Many teens stay up late playing video games, doing homework, or watching T.V.  They need all the rest they can get or else their learning abilities will get worse. It is hard for parents to get their children up in the morning. They also have to be remembering their children to do their homework, or to take the trash out.

            Teenagers are in a growth and emotion spurt at this age. No one understands them, and their parents are always scolding them.  One minute they are having out bursts and the next they are very cheerful. Parents and other adults have to make an effort to understand them and help them.

Link 

-http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/understands_4.html

Phineas Gage

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Phineas Gage was a worker or part of the crew in railroads constructions who worked by excavating rocks to make way for the railroads.  His job included drilling holes and filling them with dynamite. Phineas gage is one of the earliest cases with brain damage that survived. On September 1848 while working on the Rutland and Burlington railroad a terrible accident happened.  When Phineas gage was compacting the explosive powder with his tamping rod, a spark ignited the powder, this made his tamping rod go straight up into his lower left cheek bone and behind his eye, passing right through his skull. As a result to this accident and his injuries in the frontal lobe, his wife and close ones began to notice very dramatic changes in his personality. He became an aggressive man with anger problems.  He was antisocial, with bad manners and could not hold a job for long. We learned that the frontal lobe controls your emotions and your personality. After the damage done to Gages frontal lobe you could see extreme changes in his personality.

Phineas gages story connects with the theories of brain localization and lateralization. Brain localization means that different parts of the brain have different functions, and that all the parts of the brain do not do the same thing, while Brain lateralization means that some functions are carried out mostly on only one side of the brain. Phineas Gage’s accident was a huge step for scientists to learn about the brain and how it worked.

Links

http://lecerveau.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/articles_pdf/phyneas_gage.pdf

http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/the-incredible-case-of-phineas-gage/

http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~bbrown/psyc150`1/brain/loclat.htm

Pictures

http://joeltalks.com/web_images/phineas_gage_from_uiowa_d_neurology.jpg

http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/sfo-brain-labeled-to-match-computer-guy-v2.JPG

http://suifaijohnmak.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/left_brain_right_brain.jpg

Nature versus nurture- Athletic Ability

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Nature versus nurture is a topic that has been well debated all around the world. It means whether a humans characteristics are formed by their genetics or from their environment. The nature versus nurture issue in athletic ability is very divisive.  Was it your parent’s genes or was it the training that made you great? Some scientists believe that if you have a parent or parents that are great athletes you were born to be an athlete, but other scientist believe that in order to become great you have to practice, be dedicated, and have the right training.  In my opinion I think both nature, and nurture play a part in athletic abilities. You need the right training but you also need a parent that was an athlete or his genes to help you and give you the right environment.

            Using the research I have done, scientists and psychologists have different opinions regarding athletic abilities. Dr. Karen Fish from Stanford University once said, “Without training and opportunities, artists and athletes such as these probably would not have much success. And without genetics, they would have had an even harder time.” This means that athletes need both nature and nurture to reach the top.  For example, the great basketball player Reggie Miller who over came leg deformities and achieved greatness was in big part because of nurture. If he hadn’t practiced, or dedicated time to it he wouldn’t have become a great basketball player, but he also had the height from his father’s genes, which also helped. “Currently, the most radical viewpoint representing the primacy of training and environmental factors is the Theory of Deliberate Practice, a general theory of expertise presented by K. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues” (Baker 1). Deliberate Practice is formed by activities that help develop abilities that didn’t belong naturally. It also requires attention and dedication, and it would not bring financial benefits immediately. This is stating that athletic ability has nothing to do with your genes. If you want to reach the top you have to work hard, dedicate time to it, and have the right training. This can show us how people have different ideas and opinions about athletic ability. Do your genes form athletic ability or do you become great by practice and more practice?

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            In conclusion there are different theories debating nature versus nurture in a humans athletic ability. Scientists and psychologists ask themselves this question a lot. Are athletes born or made? Are you a great soccer player because your father was one, or did you receive right training your entire life? In my opinion athletes are made great. If you want to achieve greatness and your goals you have to dedicate time and give everything you’ve got. You’ve got to practice and work very hard and in the end you will be rewarded. “Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”(Mario Andretti 1)

Links

http://expertfootball.com/training/naturevsnurture.php

http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=91

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/desire_is_the_key_to_motivation-but_it-s/216164.html

http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0102/jb.htm