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The Deciding (Adolescent) Mind: If we were to ask you if swimming with sharks was a good idea, what would you think ( beside that we were crazy), and how long would it take you to answer that question? If you’re not a parent of an adolescent, you might be surprised. Yes, adolescents eventually do come up with the right answer, but it can take them almost half a second longer than an adult to answer “ No thanks! ”. Hey, maybe it might be cool to swim with a shark! That delay is a lifetime to neuroscientists. Dr. Abigail Baird, a leading researcher in adolescent brain development (and mom) has a lot to tell us about what bio-psychologists are finding out, and what that knowledge tells us about being human.