|
April 14, 2007
Delaying failure only delays success
Glenn Reynolds (who with his wife Dr Helen has a great great podcast on the same subject) links Megan McArdle's discussion of psychologist Robert Epstein's thoughts on extended adolescence. "It occurred to me that young people must be capable of functioning as competent adults, or the human race quite probably would not exist," says Dr. Epstein. Concludes Megan McArdle, ...perhaps Epstein is right, and we're only extending the foolish phase well into the twenties.I think he is right, and I think a lot of genuine cruelty is perpetrated under the guise of "protecting the children." Anyone who is starting out in life is more likely to make mistakes than someone who has already made mistakes and learned from them. But if only adults are allowed to make mistakes, then only adults can learn from mistakes. Adulthood is generally defined as the age of accountability. All of a sudden, a former child (who has been unaccountable for most or all of his life) ceases to be a child, and is suddenly allowed to take risks and be held accountable. I think he is more likely to fail (because of inexperience) than he would had he been allowed to take risks earlier. Logically, inexperience is the leading cause of failure. But does that mean that a teenager is any more likely to fail at what he undertakes than he would be if he attempted the same thing a few years later? I don't see why. What Epstein says may seem counterintuitive to a lot of people, but if we assume (and common sense suggests we must) that failure is more likely in the case of a beginner, wouldn't it best serve people to allow them to fail at a younger age, so that they can develop what is called experience? As a practical matter, I think older people in positions of authority (such as employers, lenders, and creditors) are more likely to take age into account when dealing with someone, and thus they are more likely to forgive a teenager who makes a mistake than an "adult" who is presumed to be experienced whether he is or not. Thus, I think letting teenagers take adult risks may be not only a better way to raise them, but kinder in the long run. As to schools (especially public schools), from what I can see, they not only foster the continued infantilization of adolescents, but they increasingly do not allow failure. Thus, they reach legal "adulthood" in a clueless, ill-prepared state. Permitting failure is a kindness. Preventing failure is cruelty. One of McArdle's comments pointed to a marvelous essay by Paul Graham titled "Why Nerds are Unpopular." It's long, but it rang true on so many levels that it seemed BillWhittlean. School is mostly a form of torture like a mini Lord-of-the-Flies prison. Something to be endured consisting mainly not of education, but a struggle for popularity. The more time the clueless and monstrous kids devote to being popular, the less equipped they'll be for life. (If I had a nerdy kid and he was forced into an environment like that, I'd tell him that the eventual revenge would take the form of watching his former tormentors fail in life while he succeeds.) BTW, I hadn't given this subject much thought before I'd listened to the Glenn and Helen podcast interview with Dr. Epstein, which I highly recommend. How I managed to write this post without discussing my own adolescence, I don't know. I guess I used similar tactics of evasion during that period, but who the hell today cares about the awful things I did during my adolescence? Besides, success at adolescence in high school is not success! It can lead to serious, sometimes lifelong mistakes. (What I did to get through it is nothing to be proud of.) AFTERTHOUGHT: One of my peet peeves is that society (and the government) increasingly treats adults like children. "A national kindergarten!" I've repeatedly complained. Might it be that delaying adulthood is a contributory factor? That what we call "teen culture" might persist in a very unhealthy way? The implications are disturbing. UPDATE: Dr. Epstein's book has its own website -- The Case Against Adolesence. Check it out! UPDATE (04/17/07): In a post (linked by Glenn Reynolds) about the horrendous shooting at Virginia Tech, Rand Simberg notes another typical attempt to call young adults "children": Now they're going on about "the children, won't someone think of the children"? Someone on Cavuto is demanding to know what they're doing for "the kids." Are they being kept warm, are they being fed, are they getting the grief counseling they need?I couldn't agree more. posted by Eric on 04.14.07 at 11:38 AM
Comments
Thank you for coming, and for the comment! Eric Scheie · April 15, 2007 11:26 AM Eric, you wore Dr. Epstein's site out. :) Seriously, we've deliberately disconnected from our youth. We either revile or romanticize them. We won't accept them as people who are not yet ready for full adult responsibilities, but who are capable of being responsible to some measure. I also agree that our self-appointed elites have infantilized us. All in the name of controlling us and retaining the power they have grown oh so fond us. Defend yourself against an attacker, and no matter what the evidence says, you are treated as if you had been convicted, condemned to death, and now taking the last walk to the stoning grounds. That the police will treat you as guilty of some horrendous crime upon the mere suggestion you've done something that might be questionable behavior has become a beautiful example of, "axiomatic". Our leadership acts as if they were an occupying force in a land rife with rebellions and insurrections. And we let them. Aint it about time we cried malarky and put the smackdown on the elitists? Alan Kellogg · April 15, 2007 03:47 PM Post a comment
You may use basic HTML for formatting.
|
|
April 2007
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
April 2007
March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
Break the schools that break the necks
Obama Is Silent Haditha Bombshell - Intel Evidence Indictment in Atlanta Bees and black boxes disappear, while Bush avoids the gallows! I Support Democracy In Iraq - Contest affirmative action for criminals but not victims? "hate the p-p-p-pork but love the p-p-p-pig" Gun grabbers get unexpected help from the "other side" I Support Democracy In Iraq
Links
Site Credits
|
|
I very much appreciate your supportive comments. For more information, you might want to check out my new book on this topic, The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen. From cover to cover, it celebrates human potential and the uniqueness of the individual. See http://thecaseagainstadolescence.com.