Some parents and teachers discipline troublesome teens through judiciously applied time-outs. They’re not stopping them from engaging with authority figures, siblings, or playmates; they’re hoping that enforced introspection will help the misguided among them reengage more productively. The point is introspection, not isolation.
Societies tackling hardened criminals don’t have the luxury of a time-out. They rely on the justice system’s version of it: solitary confinement.
