A mind grows with the body?

[Renewed Gemini]

I was arguing with my best friend who happens to be a polar opposite of me. It eventually turned into a conversation of how I'm not proud to be cynical and I'm not proud that I see reality so dark and evil, but it's how I think. She started talking to me saying that I can change how I think.

Now that part wasn't what matters so don't go criticizing my beliefs on the cruelties of humanity. However, this got me thinking. Can people truly change?

My conclusion is no. My friend presented the argument that just 3 years ago she was suicidal. I argued back that three years ago I wanted to change the world and end the evils of humanity. We were complete opposites 3 years ago, also.

My conclusion is that as the body grows, so does the mind. A body grows up. We hit puberty, our voices change, our...other stuff changes. And with that our mind changes. And like your body, your mind cannot change back. You can put on an act (almost like...plastic surgery) but in the end, you cannot truly hide who you are. A mind, like a body, can never grow down.

What do you all think?

[Akito]

lol, have you ever been in love? Or rather, thought you were. Did your chest feel tight so suddenly every time they walked past? Did your words stumble and you lose coherency? Could yours eyes not tear away from that person? Did you convince yourself you were in love?

Only to be turned down or lose that flame, and suddenly that chick's friend was pretty hot as well and you wouldn't mind loving her. Puberty and hormones cause mood changes. It makes fools of us all.

Anyway, you are basically arguing the nature vs. nurture debate. One of the oldest arguments there are and with no real definite conclusion. Are our behaviors determined at birth? Or does our experiences throughout life shape it?

From the biological perspective of psychology, it has been shown that identical twins separated at birth, living under completely different conditions (having been raised in different environments), have tended to have very similar behavioral patterns regardless. This supported the nature aspect, that some aspects of behavior were rooted in genes and naught would change them. It's called the Twin Studies, though I learnt it under a different name back in the day.

On the flip side, the behavioral perspective of psychology has shown time and time again that behaviors CAN be changed and we LEARN new things from reacting to our environment. Pavlov's Classical Condition, Skinner's Operant Condition and Kohler's Observational Learning to name a few (Wiki them). The mind has been shown to be malleable, we learn and we develop or regress (Brainwashing and Hypnotism have been shown to have work and people HAVE gotten over phobias because of conditioning). Think of the crazy, suicide bombers. Do you think they were born wanting to die for the glory of Allah?

In the end, it's up to a person's own interpretation. As with most things, humans can find no definitive answer.

[Renewed Gemini]

Wow, you just hammered me with a whole bunch of information. Haha. Well thanks for giving me your input. It certainly is a lot more interesting now. Not that it wasn't interesting before, but...well you get the point. I have more sources to look at.

[kempff]

There's another view to this altogether: are humans born human?
Society, the human world and reality we live in, and the surrounding world/culture/people shape who you are. Humans are born animals with instincts at birth, but are they born understanding languages? Do they know that some XYZ god is their ultimate salvation or their symbol of reverence? (Both of those created by humans, btw. History shows this to be the case.) All of this is given to a human as they are young, not so they are human, but because they WERE NOT to begin with. (As much as 100-200 years ago a mere joke along those lines would have outraged many, many people.)

A child's mind is a like a sponge, an adult's is a rusty, but tough iron ball. You will ask this question to yourself for years to come, and will you ever find an answer

I just saw a 7 year old girl, Emily Bear, play piano on a level I have never witnessed before. Live or recorded. The only experience I have to top it was attending a lecture held by Yo-Yo Ma and hearing him play a little. That people are calling Emily the next Mozart perhaps, is entirely reasonable to me, however the pressure placed upon her is astounding I no doubt. And get this! She played Mozart tonight like it was fun and no BIG DEAL!

Emily Bear. A very young article that I guarantee will grow.

So, to my point of Bear and Ma, did they grow into absolutely amazing ability and draw off of it? Of course. Bear however has a family of musicians supporting her, has heard music her entire life, was probably pushed to play as it was the norm in her family, and as you can see has continued to pursue it. Could she very well change her intentions in life? Of course! But are a person's aspirations and professions in life any different than their fleeting ever so blissful emotions? They will go to whatever gives them strength, whether strength is apparent or not. This is why we have Jocks, Preps, Emo's, and Nerds. Human creations for what humans choose to make themselves, however their surrounding day and age, culture, and family affect their development as a human. You can notice this in the difference between cultures, Japan having focus on few questions asked and Americans loving to ask questions.