Information Related to "In the News Apr/June 2005"
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Are
Teens Better Drivers?
By most physical measures, teenagers are the world's best drivers. Their
muscles are supple, their reflexes quick, their senses at a lifetime peak.
Yet car crashes kill more of them than any other cause. Auto insurance
rates, based solely on statistics, are super high for teenage drivers
and continue so until the mid-20s.
Now, a National Institute of Health study may help explain the statistics. It suggests that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully formed until about age 25.
"We'd thought the highest levels of physical and brain maturity were reached by age 18, maybe earlier—so this threw us," said Jay Giedd, a pediatric psychiatrist leading the study (Washington Post/LFF, Feb. 1).
This could help explain the temptation toward risky behavior for everything from driving to sexual activity to drug use.
Still, wisdom is a choice we can make. The book of Proverbs, written by Solomon to give "the young man knowledge and discretion" (Proverbs 1:4), says that "a prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple [or foolish] keep going and suffer for it" (Proverbs 22:3, NIV).
What Makes Us Happy?
Wealth? Research shows that once basic
needs are met, more income does little to raise one's sense of satisfaction
with life.
Youth? Older people more consistently say they're satisfied with their lives than the young, and they are less prone to dark moods.
Marriage? Maybe. Married people are generally happier than singles, but that may be because they were happier to begin with.
On the other hand, religious faith was found to "genuinely lift the spirit" and a 2002 University of Illinois study found that "the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression [had] strong ties to friends and family" (Time magazine, Jan. 17).
The Math of High School Sex: One Partner + One Partner = 288 Partners
The
first "map" of teen sexual behavior gives new meaning to the
old warning that you don't just have sex with a person, but with everyone
that person ever had sex with. A Jan. 24 Reuters news agency report said researchers
found a chain of 288 one-to-one sexual relationships at a high school in the
U.S. Midwest, meaning the teenager at the end of the chain may have had direct
sexual contact with only one person, but indirect contact with 286 others.
Sociologist James Moody, who led the Ohio State University study, said: "They might know that their partner had a previous partner. But they don't think about the fact that this partner had a previous partner, who had a partner, and so on."
This means that teens need a different approach to sexual health education and especially prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, the researchers said. Abstinence before marriage and fidelity afterward is certainly the safest approach to sexual behavior!
Driving the Drunks for Bucks
Would you turn over your car
keys and your money to a stranger on a scooter? Three enterprising (and sober)
college students in Colorado have found a way to lighten the pockets of their
determined-to-go-partying colleagues and neighbors.
Three years ago they founded NightRiders, a designated-driver service that safely deposits the inebriated and their cars back home after a night out. They use collapsible scooters that fit in a trunk or back seat to go from one pickup to another.
Last New Year's Eve, 350 people caught a ride from the 'Riders, paying a flat rate of $15 plus $2 a mile for the trip. The company's most effective marketing tool is a poster that compares their fees to the cost of a single DUI conviction, which in Colorado can run into the thousands of dollars.
"The sad fact of it is," says cofounder Brad Dickerhofe, "people are more concerned about being busted than about putting lives at risk."
NightRiders is expanding their company, and similar businesses are popping up across the country (Time magazine, Jan. 17).
Earthquakes: Coming to a Continent Near You?
Last December's
undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean measured 9.3 on the Richter scale
and spawned the tsunami that killed more than a quarter of a million people.
It was one of the four largest earthquakes measured since 1900 and the most
devastating natural disaster of them all. It left tens of thousands of children
either separated from their parents or orphaned. Relief workers are calling
these kids "the Tsunami Generation."
What are the chances an earthquake will strike where you live? Surprisingly, the National Earthquake Information Center (http://neic.usgs.gov) measures an average of 50 earthquakes a day. Most of them are small or happen in remote areas. Still, major quakes (those measuring 7.0 or greater) happen on average 18 times each year.
The largest recorded earthquake in the United States was a magnitude 9.2 that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 28, 1964. The largest recorded quake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May 22, 1960.
The Bible foretells that earthquake activity will increase before the second coming of Jesus Christ and will culminate at His return with "such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth" (Revelation 16:18).
For more information about what to expect, read our booklets Are We Living in the Time of the End?, The Book of Revelation Unveiled and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy.
Three Paths Found to Happiness
In the book Authentic Happiness,
author and University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman identifies
three components of happiness: pleasure ("the
smiley-face piece"), engagement (the depth of involvement with one's
family, work, romance and hobbies) and meaning (using personal strengths to
serve some larger end).
Of the three roads to a happy, satisfied life, which is most significant? Pleasure is the least consequential, he insists. "This is newsworthy, because so many Americans build their lives around pursuing pleasure. It turns out that engagement and meaning are much more important," he said.
This is the same conclusion King Solomon came to thousands of years ago. After spending a lifetime pursuing pleasure of every sort, he concluded: "Vanity of vanities... all is vanity!" (Ecclesiastes 12:8).
Nothing is wrong with pleasure enjoyed within God's law, of course. It makes life full and stimulating. But if that's our primary source of happiness, its temporary nature fades and leaves us feeling empty and craving more. "Our eyes can never see enough to be satisfied," Solomon said, "Our ears can never hear enough" (Ecclesiastes 1:8, Good News Bible).
But he does identify the one thing that genuinely brings us lasting meaning and joy—knowing and being fully engaged in God's purpose for our lives. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
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Keywords: earthquakes happiness teen sex teen driving
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