early adulthood

There’s a long and fascinating story in the NY Times today about THE PERIOD BETWEEN AGES 18-30 that will be highly relevant for many of you. Get a cup of coffee and sit down for a long read.

Here’s my favorite punch line from the article:

“Neuroscientists once thought the brain stops growing shortly after puberty, but now they know it keeps maturing well into the 20s. This new understanding comes largely from a longitudinal study of brain development sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, which started following nearly 5,000 children at ages 3 to 16 (the average age at enrollment was about 10). The scientists found the children’s brains were not fully mature until at least 25. ‘In retrospect I wouldn’t call it shocking, but it was at the time,’ Jay Giedd, the director of the study, told me. ‘The only people who got this right were the car-rental companies.'”