Is age a mark of maturity?

[BanditAngel]

While age might not guarentee maturity, there is at least the stereotype that older people are, on AVERAGE, more mature. I'd expect that this is in fact true. The problem with statistics is that it tells you a lot about a very large group and nothing about the individuals or even sub-groups. It's also hard to say if the increase in average maturity is really that significant or not.

[Az3ar]

When you say mature people, do you mean physically? Because as is shown with the poll, there are double meanings to many words and phrazes.  :)

I meant mentally, physically mature is another matter, as I saw it, though, the question was mainly targeted at mental maturity.......

[Dani]

I view this kind of black/white questions as I viewed the vote to join EU over ten years ago.(where I had reservations, but voted yes nonethless)
While age is by no means the only indicator of maturity, older people do tend to be more mature than younger ones, thus I voted yes.

[TaMeOlta]

EDIT: I'd really like to see the age of the people who said "no".  Bunch of *young* immature brats, I'll wager :)

--Pete

;) Oh great , I voted "No" and now you want me to do math ?! :blink: I was born May 14th 1968 - and I am constantly attempting to maintain a "safe" level of immaturitiy :P

My suggestion for the next poll :
"Be ambiguous , or something else ? -- Yes or No "

[Guest]

This is kind of dumb and we keep doing it over and over.

The original poll was a joke.

Mature : A fully developed state.

Being that "develope" is a concept of change over time. That means that age WILL have a correlation to maturity. This isnt an issue to argue; its a simple fact( although the original poster has the correlation backwards).

Maturity is a mark of age - by definition.

Now maybe this isnt what what the original posted meant, but its definetly what he said. I suspect that the original poster purposefully wrote with the intention that the connotation and denotation of his poll would be different, but similar enough to cause confussion, thus resulting in lively discussion.

Frankly I exspect more of everyone here, than to fall for this trick every time.

[Kevin]

The question: Is age a mark of maturity.


O.K. so what is maturity?

n. pl. ma·tur·i·ties
1
a. The state or quality of being fully grown or developed.
b. The state or quality of being mature.
2.
a. The time at which a note or bond is due.
b. The state of a note or bond being due.

So we can throw out the 2nd definition. So, lets look at 1 a The state or quality of being fully grown or developed. I'm not going to start throwing more definitions out there, but being fully grown, in the physical sense can mean that you are mature. Does age correlate to that? Yes, yes it does, very strongly.

Now, the question in the poll is probably asking about mental maturity, and that seems to be the way that everyone is interpreting it. The poll also uses the word mark, which has a whole lot of uses, but one of them, and the way that I interpreted it was as indicator. Since statistics is the only way that I know how you can give a yes now answer to this, I did a little poking around (not much because it really isn't worth it and it isn't hard to find anyway) and while yes, there is statistically significant correlation between age and mental maturity. Mental maturity is generally assessed by questionaires (as are most things in social psychology). Given all this, the answer to the question is pretty easy to pin down as yes.

Now, the fun part is interpretting that answer. Since we are talking psychology (mostly social), and statistics you have to be careful with what the answer means. Social psychology is, to quote a text, "The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another." It is a broad field covering the average of people. That is what we are looking at here, on average the older a person gets the more 'mature' they are. As mentioned there have been studies on this, some of the longitudinal (meaning it was the same group of people assessed at several stages of their lives) and they all indicate that people got more mature as they aged.

This doesn't say that all older people are more mature than all younger people, but it does say that on average as people get older they get more mature, and that older people are on average more mature than younger people. Also keep in mind that 18-25 is a standard age group for many measures, and it is one of the younger age groups. Is a 60 year old more likely to be more mature than a 24 year old? Yes. Is a 25 year old more likely to be more mature than a 16 year old? Yes, but it isn't as likely because they really aren't that different in age from each other.

So, the question really isn't "flawed". The interpretation of the question and the answers is or can be. This is one time where some of the up in arms reactions this forum sometimes generates, just bugged me.

[--Pete]

Hi,

Overall, I agree with your post. However "So, the question really isn't "flawed"." is humbug. If the question had been posed for open discussion, you would be right. The question was posed as a poll with just "Yes" and "No" as answers. The question is too ambiguous, as you pointed out, to admit of just a simple "Yes" or "No" answer.

Had the question been prefaced by an introduction having much of the information you gave, it might have been valid. As it is, it is a complete waste of space and time and does little more than give us an indication of the limitation of the thought process of the poser.

--Pete

[Occhidiangela]

Good Morning, Obi 1.10:

EDIT: I meant to entitle this post "Why paint 'I'm insecure' on your forehead?" Sorry about the lack of attention to detail there. :P

Age is a measure of potential maturity: some aged grapes are vinegar, some are wine worth $200 per bottle. It all depends on the aging process. <===== Key concept, and one you need to ponder.

The process by which we age influences our judgement, our character, and what some refer to as 'maturity.' That concept tends to limit itself to folks between ages 10-25, as I see it, because once an adult, the concern is no longer 'maturity' but rather 'are you or are you not someone with their shi** together?' "Maturity" no longer enters into it, as having passed the physical and chronological milestones, you bring what ever your process of aging and tempering has wrought in you, and are expected to produce a decent 'at bat' with each 'plate appearance.' Whether you actively pursue quality aging, or are lucky enough to be sqeezed into a perfect Oak Barrel will vary.

As others have pointed out, your question completely misses the point. Age cannot be put off, but maturation is a variable based on you, your aging process, and the attitude you choose to adopt.

I am 43, and am still fully capable of acting like a teenager on occasion. What makes me different from that same teenager, besides the gray hair? My aging process, and the soaking up life's lessons, as well as usually knowing the time and place for digressions and indulgences into less inhibited behaviour.

I am looking forward to a third childhood, once the kids are gone from the nest. :)

[Obi2Kenobi]

As you can tell by the .. instead of me making up something like nihilistic triangles for no text, I was tired. (And sick... :( ) As such, I didn't have time to write a full introductory paragraph type thing. What I meant by the topic is this: Does your age matter more than an extremely small amount (so basically does it matter at all... [but not entirely]) on your mental maturity level, generally speaking. I think not, as many other factors are much more important, thus causing it to become virtulally obsolete.
BTW, I am 13. :D

[Guest]

Maturity is a measure of devopement.
Development is a a function of time.
Age is a measure of time.

Thus - Maturity is a mark of age.

Age is not a mark of maturity.

This is not a debatable question suitable for forums. It is a simple matter of definitions.

EDIT: For clearity note that I am using mark and measure interchangebly - in this context that is correct.

[Guest]

I think this thread is an exellent example of just how signifigant age is.

I also think its an example of the hazards of starting discourse when in a virtual world, where you ccan not tell some one actuall age.

People tend to respond to ambigous statments in forums thinking there is something thoughtful behind them - often there isnt.

[Occhidiangela]

Maturity comes at different rates to different people, and your definitions seem tend to focus on the chronological versus the behavioral meaning of maturity. The longer you have been around, the more likely it is that you will have matured in your behavior, but age is no guarantee. Age can hint at or point to, or predispose one to, behavioral maturity, but as others have pointed out, it is but one variable in the equation.

I disagree that this is not a suitable question, although in my opinion it was clumsily asked, and I further disagree with your logic:

Age is indeed a mark, or indicator, of maturity, but it is not the sole indication, or mark, of maturity. :) The key is the "a" versus the "the" approach, in that the "a" implies one of several or many.


*oh dear, thinks the rogue, are the hairs now fully split?*

[Guest]

If you pay attention you will notice I said....

Maturity is a marker(a marker is sign or indicater not a gaurantee) of age.(that is completely different than what you just argued about - age is a marker of maurity.)

And it does make sense. Im am not agrueing a socialolgy point. Im just going by the definitions of the words.

[Occhidiangela]

I think you got it backwards, as regards the question, and I also think that by ignoring what maturity is, which I refer to as behavioral, not socialogical, as well as chronological you ignore the question asked. I remain consistent with the theme of the question first asked. You choose to limit your definitions arbitrarily, and hence your comment that the question is moot due to 'definitions' is incorrect.

First step, check Webster's, the arbiter of definitions. See the noted synonyms: ripe, developed, adult, grown up. So, which quality is it that Obi is querying us all about in his poll? Which did you choose?
Now, go the next step, when dealing with meanings of words and terms, and apply usage. That's right, usage and contextual meaning. Mature versus immature connotes, in his question, elements of behavior: in this case, approaching or not approaching some desireable adult quality of behavior.

In other words, why don't you answer the question he asked in the first place?

Maturity is a measure of devopement.
Development is a a function of time.
Age is a measure of time.
Thus - Maturity is a mark of age.
Age is not a mark of maturity.

Measure and mark are synonyms here? Age can be a measure of maturity, and maturity can be an indicator of age. Your declaritives are on thin ice.

Development as a function of time is your false premise, your false definition.

Some folks develop faster in the same period of time than others, just as some plants grow and mature more quickly than others if their climate/water/feeding varies. What is true is that

Age is a function of time. Development has more variables, as does maturity.

Your alleged logic is inconsistent and lends to ambiguity, not clarity. Your attempt to play with definitions just went awry, and your last two lines don't hold together.

This is not a debatable question suitable for forums.

How do you conclude this? If an opinion, fair enough. :)

It is a simple matter of definitions.

If you wish to attempt to oversimplify a word by limiting definitions, sure, but that is your own shortcoming in thought, not that of the initial questioner.

Note: And as to your edit, how did the initial questioner use 'mark'?

[Nystul]

Well, let's put it this way. Between the time a person is your age, and the time a person is Pete's age, that person will learn an aweful lot about life and what things are really important. That older person will also have a much wider perspective from having had a long time to do a lot of things. As such, you will be a lot more mature in 30 years than you are now. And at your age, even a few years of experience can have a huge impact on how a person acts.

Now of course, one person may be more mature at 13 than another at 16. Some people develop faster physically and mentally, some are forced to take on more responsibilities at a younger age, and so on. But if I had to judge people's maturity based on a single fact, age would probably be the thing I'd want to know.

[Guest]

"age can measure maturity" Im done discussing this with you - that stament is total nonsense.

That little absurdity shows that youre talking gibberish rather consicely.(If you think that makes sense go find a smart person in RL to explain it to you)


At any rate the whole line valididates what I said else where.

His original quation is garbage - it is onlu interesting because it confuses people semantics.

[Occhidiangela]

It is not correct to say that age can measure maturity, though age can predict it. Age is a single variable quantity bound by time, maturity has more than one variable that contributes to it. I can't help you if you don't understand the difference.

What I have said is hardly gibberish for anyone with any wit, but I whole heartedly agree with you that we have split the hairs on this topic down to the scalp line, and that the original question was clumsy at best.

[Guest]

Thats pretty weak you edited out the line I made a point of .

I would never edit a post someone had citiqued(unless I clearly denoted the change).

pfffft

[Guest]

Thing of it this way.

If a person was an equation of a geometric shape(a simple closed equation with several variables all positive).

Age would be an axis.

Maturity(ie the lvl/degree) of maturity would a particular attribute of the figure.

-Age(the coordinate) has an effect on maturity(the state).
-The maturity(state) has NO effect on age(coordinate).


It is absurd to say a coordinate is a "mark" of the equations state. It is one of the factors of the state - not a "mark".

However. It would be fair to say the state is "mark"(indicator) of the cooridnate. Its not going to give you an accurate location, but it will have indicative qualities.

That is why the initial question makes so little sense. The original poster implied that age was effectd by maturity rather than that maturity was effected by age.


I really should have to break this down to such a lvl for you Occi.

Edit : Added a sentence to explain a bit more, changed what spelling issues I noticed.

[--Pete]

Hi,

Preview is your friend. I know you want to get those blows in quick and hard, but it does little good if you screw the post up beyond intelligibility.

So, take a minute and proofread your post. That may cut down on the number of edits and the number of herrings.

Besides, everyone knows that persons are spherical objects (similar to, but slightly smaller than cows). ;)

--Pete