Moderators: Tunnelcat, Jeff250
I am very lucky having a dad who watches me even when I give him nothing to worry about and it makes me feel good. Hope it does the same for you. 
No we haven't held these beliefs all our lives. We learned the truth through experience. Most of us held foolish unsupportable opinions in our youth that we believed were the absolute truth, then reality came crashing in and we changed our mind. Explaining how we changed and why is like describing colour to a blind man. It just doesn't translate well to those that haven't been there.However, I forget that I'm talking to a forum full of adults who're likely to disregard any commentary that objects some of their own, mainly because this is touching on beliefs that they've held onto most of their lives.
Again, only dismissing my age, unwilling to debate. None of you have even responded to my points, all I've gotten is "you're too young".Ford Prefect wrote: No we haven't held these beliefs all our lives. We learned the truth through experience. Most of us held foolish unsupportable opinions in our youth that we believed were the absolute truth, then reality came crashing in and we changed our mind. Explaining how we changed and why is like describing colour to a blind man. It just doesn't translate well to those that haven't been there.
I know that "do what I say" doesn't work nor does "Trust me I know what's best for you" so complain away. It is what we expect from people your age.
I give up, it's a lost cause - no one can get over their age.However, even though I am young, I live in a different segment of the world, I know different people and have had different experiences, and I know I have at least some knowledge that you do not.
And I'm willing to bet that most people still have foolish opinions, and it's not a youth-specific thing. The fact that there's so many religions that specifically say all those other many religions are completely false supports my theory.Ford Prefect wrote:Most of us held foolish unsupportable opinions in our youth that we believed were the absolute truth, then reality came crashing in and we changed our mind.
Great, now you're not even trying to debate.Ford Prefect wrote:Explaining how we changed and why is like describing colour to a blind man. It just doesn't translate well to those that haven't been there.
I know that "do what I say" doesn't work nor does "Trust me I know what's best for you" so complain away. It is what we expect from people your age.
well according to medical research it isAnd I'm willing to bet that most people still have foolish opinions, and it's not a youth-specific thing.
research says you do not have the abilities to reason like an adult. but take heart you will grow out of itDuring adolescence, brain connections and signaling mechanisms selectively change over time to meet the needs of the environment. Overall, gray matter volume increases at earlier ages, followed by sustained loss and thinning starting around puberty, which correlates with advancing cognitive abilities. Scientists think this process reflects greater organization of the brain as it prunes redundant connections, and increases in myelin, which enhance transmission of brain messages.
Other parts of the brain also undergo refinement during the teen years. Areas associated with more basic functions, including the motor and sensory areas, mature early. Areas involved in planning and decision-making, including the prefrontal cortex -- the cognitive or reasoning area of the brain important for controlling impulses and emotions -- appear not to have yet reached adult dimension during the early twenties. The brain's reward center, the ventral striatum, also is more active during adolescence than in adulthood, and the adolescent brain still is strengthening connections between its reasoning- and emotion-related regions.
C'mon, can anyone explain how people suddenly change 'for the better' when they reach adulthood, instead of just saying \"I can't explain why we're superior to you,
Sorry, excuse me for thinking that someone saying that they've got more common sense, experience and knowledge than children and more will power and less likely to succum to peer pressure than some children is the same as saying that they're superior to children. How foolish of me.Flabby Chick wrote:Tiger, i think superior is the wrong word. I don't recall anyone saying parents are superior than their kids, if they did then they're wrong.
No, no it doesn't. That research says that a pre-adolescence person shouldn't be able to debate as well as if they were post-adolescence, not that a pre-adolescence person shouldn't be able to debate as well as some other post-adolescence person. Big difference.CUDA wrote:research says you do not have the abilities to reason like an adult.During adolescence, brain connections and signaling mechanisms selectively change over time to meet the needs of the environment. Overall, gray matter volume increases at earlier ages, followed by sustained loss and thinning starting around puberty, which correlates with advancing cognitive abilities. Scientists think this process reflects greater organization of the brain as it prunes redundant connections, and increases in myelin, which enhance transmission of brain messages.
Other parts of the brain also undergo refinement during the teen years. Areas associated with more basic functions, including the motor and sensory areas, mature early. Areas involved in planning and decision-making, including the prefrontal cortex -- the cognitive or reasoning area of the brain important for controlling impulses and emotions -- appear not to have yet reached adult dimension during the early twenties. The brain's reward center, the ventral striatum, also is more active during adolescence than in adulthood, and the adolescent brain still is strengthening connections between its reasoning- and emotion-related regions.
That still translates into \"A child cannot reason as well as an adult\".a pre-adolescence person shouldn't be able to debate as well as if they were post-adolescence
It's kind of hard to answer that. When I see younger kids now who have parents who take an interest in their life, I encourage them to appreciate it and take advantage of the opportunity it gives them.Flabby Chick wrote:I'll try to move this onto a different tack.
You 'older guys', what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them? I'm not talking about regrets and sh1t, cause i reckon in some sense, we all have them.
How would your older self consider your younger self?
Well, considering that I'm only 17, I can only talk about my 'youth' youth. And I know this'll really annoy some of the people here, based on that entire debate back there, but I think Young Me would be the one giving me advice more. Simply because I remember thinking about a bunch of stuff I was supposed to remember in the future, but I've forgotten a lot of it. The ones that I do remember, I've already taken great heed of; such as 'don't be obsessed with dating or mediocre girls' (I've NEVER gone on a date so far, and I've only ever had, and still have, one girlfriend), 'don't hate individual people' (I prefer to forget who did what when someone does something bad to me), 'having fun should always be more important than what people think of you' (I later expanded this into 'the opinions of idiots aren't worth much'), 'don't give up easily' (including ridiculous, near-impossible ambitions) and 'don't blow your money on junk' (which comprised of sweets, jewellery, stuff that makes you look good, etc).Flabby Chick wrote:I'll try to move this onto a different tack.
You 'older guys', what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them? I'm not talking about regrets and sh1t, cause i reckon in some sence, we all have them.
How would your older self consider your younger self?
For me, nothing really, because I wouldn't have listened.Flabby Chick wrote: You 'older guys', what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them? I'm not talking about regrets and sh1t, cause i reckon in some sence, we all have them.
That pretty well describes me too, with a few differences.TIGERassault wrote:Flabby Chick wrote:I'll try to move this onto a different tack.
Well, considering that I'm only 17, I can only talk about my 'youth' youth. And I know this'll really annoy some of the people here, based on that entire debate back there, but I think Young Me would be the one giving me advice more. Simply because I remember thinking about a bunch of stuff I was supposed to remember in the future, but I've forgotten a lot of it. The ones that I do remember, I've already taken great heed of; such as 'don't be obsessed with dating or mediocre girls' (I've NEVER gone on a date so far, and I've only ever had, and still have, one girlfriend), 'don't hate individual people' (I prefer to forget who did what when someone does something bad to me), 'having fun should always be more important than what people think of you' (I later expanded this into 'the opinions of idiots aren't worth much'), 'don't give up easily' (including ridiculous, near-impossible ambitions) and 'don't blow your money on junk' (which comprised of sweets, jewellery, stuff that makes you look good, etc).
As for advice I'd give Young Me, well, there's not much. I'd like to say stuff like 'don't keep going after that one girl when there's no chance of you going out with her', but that was one of the best things that I ever did, simply because it prevented me from being obsessed with girls (and really, I knew it would too at the time). The only advice that I could give would be,
1: Find and learn a good programming language. (not because it'd help in later life, just that it would've been fun)
2: For the love of god, regardless of what people say, your classmates in Secondary School (or High School, as some of you would call it) will NOT be more mature than your classmates in Primary School! (oh man, that was one of the worst bits of advice anyone ever game me! I mean, all those 'inane kids stuff', most predominantly wrestling, only started in Secondary School (and I never joined in).
3: Use the internet more often, especially for games. (IIRC, the only online games I could find at the time were from MSN's homepage).
I don't know how to answer that. I can only think of things I would change. Not to date this girl, don't go to that party, don't start smoking cigarettes, you stupid ★■◆●...Flabby Chick wrote:what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them?
How would your older self consider your younger self?
Good question.Flabby Chick wrote:what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them?
How would your older self consider your younger self?
That's a pretty good statement. I know it comes across as condescending when you try to explain to youth how their actions now will influence their life in the future in unexpected ways and how their strongly held beliefs now will slowly erode and change. That's why I didn't bother to try and \"explain\" or debate Tiger or any of the younger posters. I'm not well spoken enough to make it clear and I'll just come across as some out of touch old git. I have experienced that enough with three kids and I don't need a refresher.Tiger, i think superior is the wrong word. I don't recall anyone saying parents are superior than their kids, if they did then they're wrong.
Kid's do not have the life experiences that adults have, they do not know how to 'conform' to society's rules because they are not yet fully ensconced within that society. They don't realise the logistics or consequences of living in the society, and it's the parents job to teach them.
Foil wrote:
To the younger folk:
The "old farts" in here are not saying that young people don't have inherent intelligence, reason, or ability; they're saying that young people don't have the real-life experience to consistently make good choices. As much as intelligence counts, life experience is that much more important. You have to be mature enough to admit that you have some catching up to do in that area, and that the older guys here really do have some knowledge that you don't.
Spaceboy wrote:Cuda, you definitely have more knowledge than me in life, however, for some reason you assume I know nothing because of that. That in itself proves you still have a lot to learn. Some of my post is obviously biased by some grievances that have happened to a few that I know. However, even though I am young, I live in a different segment of the world, I know different people and have had different experiences, and I know I have at least some knowledge that you do not.
As I said, yes, most children are less capable than most adults, but not that all children are less capable than all adults, which is what the system is now.Foil wrote:To the younger folk:
The "old farts" in here are not saying that young people don't have inherent intelligence, reason, or ability; they're saying that young people don't have the real-life experience to consistently make good choices. As much as intelligence counts, life experience is that much more important. You have to be mature enough to admit that you have some catching up to do in that area, and that the older guys here really do have some knowledge that you don't.
A young man who isn't a socialist hasn't got a heart; an old man who is a socialist hasn't got a head.
David Lloyd George
That's fine for you, but it's not fine for the point you were trying to put across. When you can't explain a distinct way that you did change, it sounds more like you didn't change as much as you claim you did.Ford Prefect wrote:It is not your problem that I don't debate you Tiger it is my inability to make sense of a difficult subject. Forgive me if I come across as dismissive and belittling. That was not my intention.
Well said.Ford Prefect wrote:I would be disappointed in any young person that would accept the status quo as given and unalterable. That goes against the grain of human nature and would reduce the possibility of social, scientific and economic progress. You should not like it Tiger and you should take us old farts to task at every opportunity for any and all signs of hypocrisy and complacency. That doesn't mean we have to like it either.
oh hawhawWillyP wrote:...we're doomed...roid wrote:I hope to have kids
.(i'm 26)Flabby Chick wrote:I'll try to move this onto a different tack.
You 'older guys', what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them? I'm not talking about regrets and sh1t, cause i reckon in some sence, we all have them.
How would your older self consider your younger self?
I've just decided air is overrated.WillyP wrote:
What I'd say to MeTheYounger: Just do it! Do it now! Don't worry about... No, not that, I didn't mean do that! Stop, fool! What??? Don't tell me to shut up, I'm your, uh, SELF! What? What kind of language is that to use in front of your future self?! Hey, I'm talking to you! um... what are you doing? Ouch! don't do that!!! That will hurt in a few years, cut it out!
Excellent question! In order to answer, I need to explain something that affected my life dramatically.Flabby Chick wrote:I'll try to move this onto a different tack.
You 'older guys', what would you say to your younger selves? Would you like them? What advice would you give them?
No ... you can't just click your fingers ... I wish it were that simple, but like "they" say, nothing worthwhile is easy. There is no instant or magical cure that can change you from the way you were to the way you would like to be. For some, the hardest part is finding a way to change and after that it takes alot of desire and effort. I feel fortunate because many people never do find a way.roid wrote:But then, it's not like you can just click your fingers and be cured. It's a hard process, and a gram of prevention would indeed have been better than a kilogram of cure.
We are all somewhat products of our past. Sure we can change, but don't deny that it's hard. And if you didn't have that problem in the first place, you would have nothing to fix - you can't deny your life WOULD be easier without the hassle of fixing yourself.
But yeah, i see what you're saying as "no use crying over spilt milk". But still... if you ignore who spilt it you'll end up having to clean it up again and again! Remain wary
Parenthood flashbacks all over again
