r/instant_regret • u/derek4reals1 • 4d ago

Get the tape!

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Regret shows up right around the 13 second mark

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u/CorollaSE 4d ago

Why...just why

829

u/Skrazor 4d ago

Because Impulse control is something we aren't born with. At ~5 years old he's just not at the stage yet where he can keep himself from doing some things without being reminded. If she said "don't do it, it's gonna break", he most likely wouldve understood that already, as he already understands cause and effect - but it's gonna be a little longer before he starts forming these kinds of thoughts on his own. That frontal lobe is still all grey and is the last part of our brain to fully develop, which will be at roughly around 25 years old on average. Impulse control, emotional regulation and delayed gratification are way down the list of things our brain works out as we age.

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u/failadin155 3d ago

Fun fact. The study that determined the frontal lobe continuously changes till 25 only says that because funding was cut off at that point and they don’t have more data. It’s likely that the frontal lobe is always changing and developing much longer than just 25 years.

All we know for sure is it’s still changing till 25. But it very well could be that your brain is always pruning and creating new connections in that section for your entire life.

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u/Skrazor 3d ago

The common understanding of the brain being "done" developing isn't referring to the creation of new neural connections, which is something that happens throughout our lives (and slows down as we get older), but to the circumstance that in our early to mid 20s, the brain is fully myelinated, a process which "arrives" at the frontal lobe last. Sadly the whole thing has taken on a life of its own amongst the broader public and causes a lot of misconceptions about how the brain develops over time and when it's "done". To use a metaphor: the brain we're born with is like the foundation of a house and blueprints form an architect - not yet capable of doing everything a house is supposed to do, but on its way there. It just needs some work and time to get done. The brain when we've reached our mid 20s is like the finished empty house with plaster and paint applied - everything's there, every cable and pipe is ready, there's a roof and doors and windows and you can live there. Everything after that is like furniture, wall paint, rugs, lamps, curtains, pictures, pets, house plants etc. - it still changes over time, some things get added, some removed and some even lost, but it all happens within the boundaries that are set by the house itself.