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> Because he was a 24 year old putz who’s grand life philosophy was basically the same as every 24 year old suburban white dude: the world sucks, I should run a

by mrep 6y ago

> Because he was a 24 year old putz who’s grand life philosophy was basically the same as every 24 year old suburban white dude: the world sucks, I should run away to a simpler time. As a white dude who grew up in suburbia and was recently 24, where are you getting this because I nor any of my suburban white friends think that?

rsecora 6y ago
That's a common meme of the last 40.000 years. Olders love criticizing younger generations. Don't worry it happens in urban areas, in the jungle and at kings court. Human nature, my elders criticized my 30 years ago, and now I do the same. I'm quite sure Phillip II also complained about the foolines of his son Alexander, even when he was tutored by Aristotle. In brief, elders complains of youngers, but the truth is the world progress with each generation. Try to left a better world than the one you have encountered, it still has some nasty bugs to resolve.
- catalogia 6y ago
  If old people have been criticizing young people for acting dumb for thousands of years, maybe that means old people are always wrong, or maybe it means young people always tend to act dumb. I think a lot of old people look back on their youth, realize they were dumb, then look at the contemporary youth and see that they're dumb too. Those youth eventually mature, see that they were once dumb, and see that contemporary youth are still dumb. This hypothesis doesn't preclude a general trend of progress; rather it says something about the biological development of human brains. Despite what our modern laws might say, 18 year olds typically still have a lot of growing up to do. There's plenty of evidence that suggests brain development continues well into one's mid 20s. > It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet. The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051 https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?Con... McCandless died when he was 24. Notice that a lot of people in this thread, sympathetic or critical of him, are referring to him as a 'kid'. There's probably some real truth in that characterization.
  - rsecora 6y ago
    Agree
EdwardDiego 6y ago
Well if any of your friends start reading Thoreau incessantly, consider it a sign that intervention may be necessary.

by mrep 6y ago

rsecora 6y ago

That's a common meme of the last 40.000 years. Olders love criticizing younger generations. Don't worry it happens in urban areas, in the jungle and at kings court. Human nature, my elders criticized my 30 years ago, and now I do the same. I'm quite sure Phillip II also complained about the foolines of his son Alexander, even when he was tutored by Aristotle. In brief, elders complains of youngers, but the truth is the world progress with each generation. Try to left a better world than the one you have encountered, it still has some nasty bugs to resolve.

catalogia 6y ago
If old people have been criticizing young people for acting dumb for thousands of years, maybe that means old people are always wrong, or maybe it means young people always tend to act dumb. I think a lot of old people look back on their youth, realize they were dumb, then look at the contemporary youth and see that they're dumb too. Those youth eventually mature, see that they were once dumb, and see that contemporary youth are still dumb. This hypothesis doesn't preclude a general trend of progress; rather it says something about the biological development of human brains. Despite what our modern laws might say, 18 year olds typically still have a lot of growing up to do. There's plenty of evidence that suggests brain development continues well into one's mid 20s. > It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet. The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051 https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?Con... McCandless died when he was 24. Notice that a lot of people in this thread, sympathetic or critical of him, are referring to him as a 'kid'. There's probably some real truth in that characterization.
- rsecora 6y ago
  Agree

EdwardDiego 6y ago

Well if any of your friends start reading Thoreau incessantly, consider it a sign that intervention may be necessary.