Our brains are not hardwired!

This is from Newsweek's current issue: "181 Things You Should Know." Freakin' fascinating. I thought I was up on this stuff, but I had no idea! Below is the link and an excerpt.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19389351/site/newsweek

When Does Your Brain Stop Making New Neurons?
By Sharon Begley
Newsweek
July 2, 2007 issue

Few laypeople understand that genetic determinism have been so discredited. Most still embrace the idea that our fate is written in our DNA. "It's puzzling that determinism is so attractive to so many people," says UCSF's Merzenich. "Maybe it's appealing to view yourself as a defined entity and your fate as determined. Maybe it's in our nature to accept our condition."

There is an irony to that. When people believe that their abilities and traits are fixed, interventions meant to improve academic performance or qualities such as resilience and openness to new experiences have little effect. "But if you tell people that their brain can change, it galvanizes them," says psychologist Carol Dweck of Stanford University, whose 2006 book "Mindsets" explores the power of belief to alter personality and other traits. "You see a rapid improvement in things like motivation and grades, or in resilience in the face of setbacks." None of that happens, or at least not as readily, in people who believe they are stuck with the brain they have.