"In thinking about what is commonly called a three pound universe, I'm struck most by the nature of it's evolution. Not through history, but through the course of one's own lifetime. During the first ten years especially, experiences can actually mold and shape the brain, design the neural architecture, and determine the level of chemicals. On the one hand, I'm thrilled, because the brain's second evolution, during our own lifetime, frees us from the shackles of our ancestry. We are not predestined creatures. Any one of us could evolve in countless ways. That's a most liberating thought. But I wonder...does what we know about the brain's second evolution suggest that instead of being prisoners of our genes, we are molded by the world around us? Maybe it means that we aren't free at all - that we're simply prisoners of our environment. It's chilling to know that the brain is so vulnerable to external influences: to poverty, violence, hatred, prejudice. We might almost wish that genes had more influence to buffer the brain. But in fact, life's tragedies profoundly and inalterably affect the brain - physically change it. What a grave picture to ponder. It begins to give us a scientific understanding of why prejudice and ethnic hostilities can persist for centuries - why violence begets violence. We know these images all to well." - David Suzuki See also: http://www.fpc.wa.gov/publications/ACEs%20in%20Washington.2009%20BRFSS.Final%20Report%207%207%202010.pdf http://videos.med.wisc.edu/videoInfo.php?videoid=8259 http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/pyramid.htm http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/cradle-prison-pipeline-report-2007-full-highres.pdf http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/prevention/children.html http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/prevention/essential.html

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