The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
Author : Jonathan Haidt
Publisher : Allen Lane (an imprint of Penguin)
ISBN : 9781802069808
Call Number : 305.230973 HAI
Summary:
Suppose that when your first child turned ten, a visionary billionaire whom you've never met chose her to join the first permanent human settlement on Mars. Her academic performance—plus an analysis of her genome, which you don't remember giving consent for—clinched her a spot. Unbeknownst to you, she had signed herself up for the mission because she loves outer space, and, besides, all of her friends have signed up. She begs you to let her go. Before saying no, you agree to learn more. You learn that the reason they're recruiting children is that they adapt better to the unusual conditions of Mars than adults, particularly the low gravity. If children go through puberty and its associated growth spurt on Mars, their bodies will be permanently tailored to it, unlike settlers who come over as adults. At least that's the theory. It is unknown whether Mars-adapted children would be able to return to Earth.