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this is flat-earth levels of misrepresenting science. it's complete and absolute nonsense and I'm fucking tired of it, so as an expert with a PhD in child and youth social movements, here's a thread:
the science aging bigots love to trot out about young brains says something very specific: that executive functioning, and particularly the ability to prioritise long-term goals over immediate impulses based on present stimuli, is strongest after the mid-20s.
there are multiple ways to interpret this. the least charitable is "youth take stupid risks in the heat of the moment because their brains can't focus on consequences." the most charitable is along the lines of "young people are better at taking action in the face of uncertainty"
what is NOT a logical interpretation of any established science is "young people do not have the capacity for cold cognition". when no immediate stimuli are present, the difference in how their presence impacts prioritisation and goal-setting is, obviously, negated.
very simplified analogy:
given the choice of whether or not to eat a plate of pancakes sitting in front of them that have a 5% chance of being poisoned, young people may* be more likely to eat them than their elders.
given the choice of whether or not to eat a plate of pancakes sitting in front of them that have a 5% chance of being poisoned, young people may* be more likely to eat them than their elders.
this does NOT mean they are more likely, sitting calmly in their flat on a Thursday night, to decide to go out and track down potentially poisoned pancakes.
forming and acting on political opinions is a very, very strong example of a cold cognition scenario. there's no immediate, high-impact stimulus demanding you alter your choices and take risks with uncertain consequences in a voting booth or a political party branch meeting!
there is no basis for the claim that young people form political opinions less intelligently or thoughtfully than older adults. in fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that young people's higher cognitive tolerance for ambiguity lets them form MORE considered views.
young brains are less susceptible to status quo bias, which is an incredible asset to anyone making decisions about what their vision for a just and fair society looks like.
the very simple reason this science gets constantly misrepresented is because older adults hold greater political power and have an obvious vested interest in keeping it. they can, quite frankly, fuck off with that.
