Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps isn’t equally easy for everyone. A study of 83,000 brain scans revealed that criminal behavior, depression and mental illness often result from some form of brain injury. The study showed that treating the specific type of damage is dramatically more effective than simply addressing the symptoms. This research calls into question utilizing penalization and punishment to effect correction. If we understand that those exhibiting antisocial, unstable or deviant behavior are suffering from a physical brain condition, it allows something superior to anger and intolerance to arise…

Compassion.

Listen to the 15 minute TedX talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8&spfreload=1