[michaelt]

There are some statements that, though reasonable in isolation, are almost always heard from people teeing up a really bad opinion.

For example, if someone says "I'm not racist, but" I'm already rolling my eyes before they've even said what they're about to say.

Similarly, when some people hear "prefrontal cortexes don't fully develop until" they start rolling their eyes pre-emptively at the infantilising, anti-personal-responsibility take that usually follows. Even if it didn't, in your case.

[scott_w]

My issue is that their statement about prefrontal cortex development is being used in the context of “young people don’t understand repercussions,” when the two things are not actually related. Not least because young people clearly CAN understand repercussions.