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There's too much pressure these days to know what you want to do with your life. How can a 15 year old know anything about his future, when he's just trying to

There's too much pressure these days to know what you want to do with your life. How can a 15 year old know anything about his future, when he's just trying to get through the next midterm? I'm not excusing mediocrity and laziness. For as the saying goes, if you don't know where you are going, any road can take you there. But, in the grand scheme of things, not enough attention is placed on discovery and growth. And, too much is place on fitting into some category.

Retric 16y ago
It's easy to forget that in many ways a 30 year old only has twice the experience of a 15 year old. There are brain development issues, but talented 15 year old is often significantly better at their specialty than the average 30 year old. PS: You can stagnate at any age, around 25% of Americans did not read a single book last year.
- WalterBright 16y ago
  I used to buy into the idea that reading a book, any book, is a good idea. That may be true if you're learning to read, but most books are junk and add no value to your life. You can stagnate easily by reading lots of potboilers, for example.
- anamax 16y ago
  > It's easy to forget that in many ways a 30 year old only has twice the experience of a 15 year old. At walking and eating, sure, but for many other things, the 30 year old has more than 2x as much experience. It depends on when they start. For example, if someone learns math at 5, that someone can have 10 years of experience at 15 and 25 years at 30. If said someone doesn't start doing something until 10, the numbers are 5 and 20.
  - Retric 16y ago
    I suspect the average 30 year old in the US is probably worse on a standardized math test than the average 15 year old. Back in collage I took Differential Equations, but at 30 I really don't recall the specifics. In many ways I was probably better at math a 17 than I am today. Now take the average person that can't recall how to use %'s correctly and they may have been better at 15.
    - anamax 16y ago
      That's why I wrote "can have" instead of "will have" - elapsed time is an upper limit but individuals may do something else with that time.
kiba 16y ago
When I was 15, I was working on my first video game. It was an utter failure. Nonetheless, I keep trying anyway. That become my career path.
- chrischen 16y ago
  I think your example shows that we need to start giving our kids more free time so they can explore first hand what they love to do.
  - kiba 16y ago
    We have plenty of free time, but not enough encouragement.
    - chrischen 16y ago
      Many modern high schoolers don't really have that much free time between AP classes and "extra curricular" activities. And I say it in quotes because like the AP classes, often those activities are the result of college application pressure (not always).

Retric 16y ago

It's easy to forget that in many ways a 30 year old only has twice the experience of a 15 year old. There are brain development issues, but talented 15 year old is often significantly better at their specialty than the average 30 year old. PS: You can stagnate at any age, around 25% of Americans did not read a single book last year.

WalterBright 16y ago
I used to buy into the idea that reading a book, any book, is a good idea. That may be true if you're learning to read, but most books are junk and add no value to your life. You can stagnate easily by reading lots of potboilers, for example.
anamax 16y ago
> It's easy to forget that in many ways a 30 year old only has twice the experience of a 15 year old. At walking and eating, sure, but for many other things, the 30 year old has more than 2x as much experience. It depends on when they start. For example, if someone learns math at 5, that someone can have 10 years of experience at 15 and 25 years at 30. If said someone doesn't start doing something until 10, the numbers are 5 and 20.
- Retric 16y ago
  I suspect the average 30 year old in the US is probably worse on a standardized math test than the average 15 year old. Back in collage I took Differential Equations, but at 30 I really don't recall the specifics. In many ways I was probably better at math a 17 than I am today. Now take the average person that can't recall how to use %'s correctly and they may have been better at 15.
  - anamax 16y ago
    That's why I wrote "can have" instead of "will have" - elapsed time is an upper limit but individuals may do something else with that time.

kiba 16y ago

When I was 15, I was working on my first video game. It was an utter failure. Nonetheless, I keep trying anyway. That become my career path.

chrischen 16y ago
I think your example shows that we need to start giving our kids more free time so they can explore first hand what they love to do.
- kiba 16y ago
  We have plenty of free time, but not enough encouragement.
  - chrischen 16y ago
    Many modern high schoolers don't really have that much free time between AP classes and "extra curricular" activities. And I say it in quotes because like the AP classes, often those activities are the result of college application pressure (not always).