Age = SMRT?
- Thread starter UnusualStranger
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Well assuming some outside force of brain damage doesn't intervene you get smarter as you get older, but it's entirely possible for someone who was a complete moron earlier on in life to still be a moron now.
There are plenty of dumb people who also happen to be old, there are also plenty of smart people who happen to be old.
All depends.
Try to judge a person by their own merits, not how old they are.
All depends.
Try to judge a person by their own merits, not how old they are.
Honestly I don't feel as smart as I did as a kid... Though I do feel I've become at least a bit wiser from my experiences. Most of my experience being someone older than me believe they're /always/ right simply because they've been around longer. I constantly get into fights with my mother over some of the most idiotic shit because she simply refuses to admit I might know more about the world that she does despite the fact she's been alive longer. :/ She may have more technical skills but when it comes to book smarts... Well she's a little behind.
If you have to ask, you are not old enough to know that yet.UnusualStranger said:
Sarcasm aside, knowledge is the result of learning. Learning takes time. It is more probable that an older person knows more, but "more probable" is most often confused with "absolutely always".
Why hello there, generation gap. Shall I wave my cane and tell you kids to get off my lawn?
I'm past thirty and have learned a lot of things in life through bitter experience, and if there's one thing I've learned above all else, it's that age and guile truly does beat youth and enthusiasm every single time.
I'm past thirty and have learned a lot of things in life through bitter experience, and if there's one thing I've learned above all else, it's that age and guile truly does beat youth and enthusiasm every single time.
Age is just a number.
If your a complet cretin (I love that word) it don't matter of your 50 or 15 your still a cretin
If your a complet cretin (I love that word) it don't matter of your 50 or 15 your still a cretin
Ah, but there is the problem. Age does not always correlates with maturity. Just because you are old doesn't mean you are more mature, it just means you are old. You are slightly more likely to be mature, but it is usually unlikely.Good morning blues said:
stinkychops said:
reg42 said:
I see all of you notice that there are exceptions to the rule. However, I feel that there seem to be more exceptions as time goes on (an the older generation is around longer), making it seem less than a general rule, and more of just a saying.Booze Zombie said:
Why hello, Older generation. We meet again, at last.SimuLord said:
The main problem is not with generations themselves, it is the general assumption that because you are older, your abilities and wisdom cannot be matched by a younger generation. It should be noted that sometimes just because you have lived longer doesn't mean you have done more than the generations after you.
And therein is the problem. That assumption that "more probable" is turned into "absolutely always". It is a flawed rule, and one that should not still be around, but yet I find it still prevalent amongst older generations.Halceon said:
And there is the example. This is exactly what I am talking about. Sure, sometimes older folks know what they are talking about, and a full of knowledge. Other times, they just feel they are right just because of the age they have. It isn't the case, but they seem hell bent on standing on that idea, as flawed as it is.Xanadeas said:
No. The correlation is extremely strong. You will very rarely find a sixteen-year-old who is better able to navigate social situations and manage their lives than a thirty-year-old; in the vast, vast majority of cases, the opposite is true.UnusualStranger said:
In my experience the younger you are, the less wisdom, maturity, and "smarts" you have. Obviously, this is a generalization, and does not apply in every case, but I would estimate the 80% of the time, it stand correct.
Are there older people who lack maturity, wisdom, and "smarts"? Yes.
Are there younger people who have gained wisdom, maturity, and "smarts"? Yes.
But, these people are the exception, not the rule.
The difference between older and younger people is usually represented as:
The Younger says: I have the newest information at my fingertips, and because of this, I am more intelligent.
The Older says: I have more experience, and because of this, have greater understanding, and application abilities.
Technically, they are both correct, however, the Older person almost always has the advantage.
The Younger person may have the latest "knowledge", but without a good understanding of how to apply said "knowledge", the younger person quickly becomes illogical in their application, and uses of knowledge. Alternatively, the Older person may be missing the newest information, but once learned, is capable of applying it, and using it, to great effect.
In an analogy example, the younger person may know how a car works, and the ideas of aerodynamics, fuel consumption versus energy expenditure, and the statisics of accidents. All very impressive. But, without having the experience of driving in multiple conditions, and the experience of driving in general, the young person is nothing more than another dangerous idiot behind the wheel. Hence, younger people get into far, far, more accidents than older people.
Knowledge is power, a younger person is a monkey who understands how a gun works, but not how to aim it, or even what to aim it at. The older person may not know the exact workings of the gun, but they know how to use it.
Are there older people who lack maturity, wisdom, and "smarts"? Yes.
Are there younger people who have gained wisdom, maturity, and "smarts"? Yes.
But, these people are the exception, not the rule.
The difference between older and younger people is usually represented as:
The Younger says: I have the newest information at my fingertips, and because of this, I am more intelligent.
The Older says: I have more experience, and because of this, have greater understanding, and application abilities.
Technically, they are both correct, however, the Older person almost always has the advantage.
The Younger person may have the latest "knowledge", but without a good understanding of how to apply said "knowledge", the younger person quickly becomes illogical in their application, and uses of knowledge. Alternatively, the Older person may be missing the newest information, but once learned, is capable of applying it, and using it, to great effect.
In an analogy example, the younger person may know how a car works, and the ideas of aerodynamics, fuel consumption versus energy expenditure, and the statisics of accidents. All very impressive. But, without having the experience of driving in multiple conditions, and the experience of driving in general, the young person is nothing more than another dangerous idiot behind the wheel. Hence, younger people get into far, far, more accidents than older people.
Knowledge is power, a younger person is a monkey who understands how a gun works, but not how to aim it, or even what to aim it at. The older person may not know the exact workings of the gun, but they know how to use it.
Now we are getting a little bit statistical. Being just one person, I only have personal experience to guide me. This being the case, what I have seen is that there are quite a few 16 y.o.s that are quite intelligent, and know how to react in social situations, sometimes handling them better than a 30 y.o. could.Good morning blues said:
I don't expect a 16 y.o. to know how to handle a mortgage, loans, car payments, bills, and taxes. Those are actions that you need to experience in order to understand. So, unless the 16. y.o. has had a very hard living, they would not know of how to juggle all these things. My main point is that this correlation is not as strong as everyone wants to think it is. Being older does not nearly guarantee a better understanding, it makes it more probable.
But then again, I could be mistaken, and perhaps it is just in my general area where things are off.
Yep. Just recently too. My mom and I were talking about life and love about 2 months ago. I have never been in love, never even been close, but I'm 22 so I've (probably) got plenty of time to go. However I'm still quite skeptical of the idea and when I told her this I got that line in return. To be fair, she's probably right.UnusualStranger said:
But you know what, I'll say it outright right now. I am young and I actually don't understand much. I'm clueless when it comes to emotions, the human body, nature, biology in general, music, government, the inner workings of most businesses, the Chinese game of Go, etc.
I absolutely agree that "being older does not nearly guarantee a better understanding, it makes it more probable." There are plenty of thirty-year-olds whose lives are in the shitter through their own machinations, and there's the odd sixteen-year-old that's keeping their household afloat. However, when you say that you don't expect a sixteen-year-old to know how to manage their lives because they haven't had experience in it, I think you contradict yourself. What is maturity if it's now the knowledge of how to manage your life and relationships with the people around you? Like you say, that knowledge is built upon a foundation of trial and error, and since older people have had more time to make those attempts, they'll have a better knowledge of what works and what doesn't.UnusualStranger said:
Maybe we're just going on different definitions of "maturity," but I have seen dramatic differences in these skills as both I and the people around me have grown up, even if it's not a uniform progression.
