" In Praise of the Teenage Brain "

Parents Forum
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<p>Hope New York Times is not a blog…</p>

<p>[In</a> Praise of the Teenage Brain - NYTimes.com](<a href=“In Praise of the Teenage Brain - The New York Times”>In Praise of the Teenage Brain - The New York Times)</p>

<p>"Mr. Lehrer advised that students “trust the gut” in deciding what college to go to, citing scientific experiments to emphasize that rational thinking can be debilitating.</p>

<p>He referred to a study in which a group of people were asked to choose one car from 16 options. Half of the group was left to think over the choices; the other half was distracted with word puzzles. When made to choose, those that were not distracted made inferior decisions. Score one point for rational, concentrated thinking.</p>

<p>But when the selection was more complicated – with 48 different types of cars to choose from – and the experiment was repeated, 70 percent of those that were distracted by puzzles and forced to choose out of instinct rather than reason made “the best possible decision,” whereas those that had been completely focused on considering all 48 choices made that best selection only 20 percent of the time.</p>

<p>Mr. Lehrer emphasized that the college field is more like the second experiment, saturated with options. “There is actually nothing more complicated than choosing a college,” he said.</p>

<p>He said of the study’s results: “People were able to think better without thinking at all. I think this is directly applicable to college – there are too many choices. It’s impossible to rationally assess options.”</p>

<p>“Respect the intuition of a 17-year-old,” he told the audience of college counselors, bedecked in Mardi Gras beads and sequined jester hats.</p>

<p>Mr. Lehrer also cited an experiment from the 1970s – known as “The Marshmallow Test” – in which 4-year-olds were given the choice of having a marshmallow immediately, or having two marshmallows in 15 minutes. Only 20 percent could wait the full 15 minutes, even for double the reward."</p>

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<p>Interesting, thanks for sharing!</p>

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<p>The conclusion I draw is that students totally should make a rational assessment - just not with all 2,000 colleges at once. Make a few gut decisions to come up with a manageable list, then sit back and think about the remaining options. </p>

<p>By the way, the article got corrected after you copied it. Here’s the new paragraph:</p>

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<p>^Thank you!</p>

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<p>This also explains why my friend had 16 samples of practically identical paint colors on her family room wall for months and months. Paralysis caused by too many choices, most of which would have been perfectly fine.</p>