Adulthood is essentially a learned response to a dangerous and traumatic environment. Extended childhood is the essence of humanity (as contrasted with animals

Adulthood is essentially a learned response to a dangerous and traumatic environment. Extended childhood is the essence of humanity (as contrasted with animals.) Neoteny - "also called juvenilization,[5] is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny is found in modern humans compared to other primates." > Neoteny is seen in domesticated animals such as dogs and mice.[25] This is because there are more resources available, less competition for those resources, and with the lowered competition the animals expend less energy obtaining those resources. This allows them to mature and reproduce more quickly than their wild counterparts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny The point of being human is to change the environment to permit a more relaxed and enjoyable life. What we call "adulthood" is the adjustment to a harsh reality, but that reality is not immutable. Science and technology (developed by our "neotenous" brains) gives us the leverage to literally remake the world in our image.