NationStates Jolt Archive

Why oh why do young people (at least in the US) speak of using nuclear weapons as if they were firecrackers. "Oh yeah dude, we should just nuke them!" I cringe (inside) when I hear that.

I'm thinking it has to do with the end of the Cold War with the Soviets. Suddenly nuclear arms became something more than deterents.

Do they not understand the inherent violence and suffering that would occur in nuclear warfare? You worry about surviving and suffering, instant thermal death is the preferable option.

People like simple, dramatic solutions. Plus I think a lot of us, deep down inside, want to see everything just suddenly go to hell. A blank, somewhat radioactive slate to start over on is kind of appealing in some basic, primal way.

Immature pre-frontal lobes, the PFL is responsible for weighing actions and consequences, your Pre-Frontal Lobe doesn't fully mature until your 21-25, thats why some teenagers and other young people are terrible at making decisions, and especially bad at thinking those decisions out before making them.

Why oh why do young people (at least in the US) speak of using nuclear weapons as if they were firecrackers. "Oh yeah dude, we should just nuke them!" I cringe (inside) when I hear that.

I'm thinking it has to do with the end of the Cold War with the Soviets. Suddenly nuclear arms became something more than deterents.

Do they not understand the inherent violence and suffering that would occur in nuclear warfare? You worry about surviving and suffering, instant thermal death is the preferable option.

It's a simplistic permanent solution to a problem. One which ignores the nuances of a situation. Nuke 'em! Makes a good sound bite, and if you take more than two syllables to make your point with some people they're not interested in hearing it.

Immature pre-frontal lobes, the PFL is responsible for weighing actions and consequences, your Pre-Frontal Lobe doesn't fully mature until your 21-25, thats why teenagers and other young people are terrible at making decisions, and especially bad at thinking those decisions out before making them.

I'm pretty good at decisionmaking and I'm only 18. I've seen 30 or 40 years olds who are way more fucktarded than I've ever been...

Just people being silly. Ignore it.

It's because they're all worried about global warming.

I'm pretty good at decisionmaking and I'm only 18. I've seen 30 or 40 years olds who are way more fucktarded than I've ever been...

I'm not trying to generalize here, I am sure there are exceptions, and funnily enough, some research has indicated that the PFL doesn't mature fully to 30s to early 40s, go figure.

Also, neuro-biological factors do not make the whole of a person's psyche, there are many more variables that affect behavior, such as where they grew up at, their income, cognitive disorders, etc.

I'm not trying to generalize here, I am sure there are exceptions, and funnily enough, some research has indicated that the PFL doesn't mature fully to 30s to early 40s, go figure.

The brain is one weird organ...

Also, neuro-biological factors do not make the whole of a person's psyche, there are many more variables that affect behavior, such as where they grew up at, their income, cognitive disorders, etc.

Obviously; I mean, it really boils down to how your upbringing and personal decisions affect your brain through its development.

Why oh why do young people (at least in the US) speak of using nuclear weapons as if they were firecrackers. "Oh yeah dude, we should just nuke them!" I cringe (inside) when I hear that.
Lolzlolz liberals like you should get their countries glassed for being French fags lozl!11!



More to the point - it's because they can't think about the consequences of their actions properly, to be perfectly honest.

"Yes, nuking Iran would solve anything, and have no political, economic or social effect in the slightest. Only people in Iran, and only the bad people in Iran, more exactly will expire, nothing else will occur" is the general thought process, or so it seems.

Sad, really.

Just to back up my claim a bit:
It's because a teenager's prefrontal cortex — the brain's center for moderation, impulse-control and the understanding of consequences — is still under construction. Simultaneously the body's hormones — which Walsh calls the accelerator center of the brain — are surging.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002163863_healthteenmoods30.html

The brain is one weird organ...
Oh yeah, everytime we come up with some revolutionary break through, all it seems to do is create more questions; sometimes I doubt if we'll ever fully understand the brain.

its fun to take the extremist position after all a cool calm centrist decision is hardly hip think about this what would you rather do:

A) go loot and set fire to things in your nations capital

Or

B) sit there waiving boards all day in the cold hoping that people take notice (and there won’t be any cookies)

Or maybe there American *shrug*

I guess kids don't really give a crap about anything but themselves. They'd rather nuke some other country than watch bad things happening to theirs. Man, I hate teenagers. No, wait... OMG I am a teenager! Must start spking rndm crap lol!!!!!!!111eleven

People like simple, dramatic solutions. Plus I think a lot of us, deep down inside, want to see everything just suddenly go to hell. A blank, somewhat radioactive slate to start over on is kind of appealing in some basic, primal way.

QFE. It's not even that deep or down for me, I'm morbidly omnicidal sometimes.

Oh yeah, everytime we come up with some revolutionary break through, all it seems to do is create more questions; sometimes I doubt if we'll ever fully understand the brain.

It really is a mystery...but a fascinating one at that. The sheer complexity of the organ and the amazing interactions of its various functions are arguably two of the most beautiful and captivating things in all of the biological sciences.

And that's why I want my brain to be cryogenically preserved after I die...if they figure the whole thing out, I want to come back dammit!

It really is a mystery...but a fascinating one at that. The sheer complexity of the organ and the amazing interactions of its various functions are arguably two of the most beautiful and captivating things in all of the biological sciences.

And that's why I want my brain to be cryogenically preserved after I die...if they figure the whole thing out, I want to come back dammit!

I doubt that. You'll be much too relaxed, what with floating in oblivion and all. Endless nothingness, nonexistantness, no worries because worries don't exist and neither do you...

Very relaxing stuff.

I guess kids don't really give a crap about anything but themselves. They'd rather nuke some other country than watch bad things happening to theirs. Man, I hate teenagers. No, wait... OMG I am a teenager! Must start spking rndm crap lol!!!!!!!111eleven

I'm not a teenager, yet have vented with an occasional "nuke the fuckers". But I am an American, we do that. I've said "blast them into the stone age" before too. In my case, (and most, I would believe) it is not a serious recommendation for a course of action, but an expression designed to relieve frustration while also supporting potential military action.

Oh, and you better adjust your sig before a mod does- sigs are limited to 8 lines, which includes lines of dashes.

I doubt that. You'll be much too relaxed, what with floating in oblivion and all. Endless nothingness, nonexistantness, no worries because worries don't exist and neither do you...

Yeah, that's why I'm going to make sure to mention it multiple times and on multiple forms of data storage to prevent a loss. The last thing I need is to float in oblivion (however nice it might be to not exist...Nirvana for a few decades or centuries) while everyone else is being revived and I miss out on the fun until someone decides to revive me to make room for someone else.

Very relaxing stuff.

Well, the way I figure it, by the time they've revived me I will be able to exist in something infinitely better than anything which has come before. Oblivion is nice, but this is oblivion squared (which would actually still be zero, but bear with me).

Maybe I'll be able to choose a particular simulated universe to be born in to and then have no memory of my choice until I "die" again. It's the same as an "afterlife", only a million times better and customizable. Although I'm sure the computer system running the whole mess will probably have its own moral codes and influence over where I can choose...maybe certain numbers of "ethics points" required for different realities.

Or maybe I've just read too much Ray Kurzweil....8:30 math class gives me a lot of time to sit and think, I'm afraid.

Fourteen year old here, and I hate when people say that, if that makes you feel any better. (Not all of us are warmongers!) But, a lot of teenagers are like that for some reason. *shudder*

Mostly for attention and probably if they say it like that *I hope* they're making a joke.

Fourteen year old here, and I hate when people say that, if that makes you feel any better. (Not all of us are warmongers!) But, a lot of teenagers are like that for some reason. *shudder*

This is the OP starter.

Point taken. There are such things as comprhensible, non-homicidal teenagers in the US. It's difficult to communicate in such broad terms without generalizations. My apologies.

People like simple, dramatic solutions. Plus I think a lot of us, deep down inside, want to see everything just suddenly go to hell. A blank, somewhat radioactive slate to start over on is kind of appealing in some basic, primal way.

Yeah, I'm going to third the second part of this, i know there are times when I'm in a depressive mood and look at how fucked up the world is just vaporising it all and getting it over with can look appealing.

Because for the modern post-1990 child or teen it is a whole of a lot easier to imagine seeing something being blown up on TV than to imagine seeing something blown up in your own neighbourhood.

*snip*
I'm 15 and I physically cringe when I hear that (quite often)...

It could just be that current teenagers are doing what they do best by jumping in the bandwagon with all the previous generations and trying to destroy the earth faster than their predecessors. And, if we nuke everything we will ensure that humans are extinct, removing any hope of a next generation and making us the victors of this competition.

Why oh why do young people (at least in the US) speak of using nuclear weapons as if they were firecrackers. "Oh yeah dude, we should just nuke them!" I cringe (inside) when I hear that.

I'm thinking it has to do with the end of the Cold War with the Soviets. Suddenly nuclear arms became something more than deterents.

Do they not understand the inherent violence and suffering that would occur in nuclear warfare? You worry about surviving and suffering, instant thermal death is the preferable option.
I know Nuke 'em as a term for heating something up in the Microwave oven...

I can see how Nuke 'em can be seen as an option.

even tho they don't know the horrors of nuclear warfare, today age, everything is either about Speed, Ease, Technology and Power and Nuking someone is fast, easy, the highest tech level, and most powerful weapons in the arsenal (until those orbiting laser platforms are built)

I think some trips to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are in order...