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Age of Ascent

Kal'Stang

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Location
Bonners Ferry ID USA
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On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

I'm 25 now and I sure hope my brain isn't done developing.
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

The society cant afford to babysit people who should be able to function on their own, we already have an extreme lack of resources.

I say keep that age at 18 and tell youth that they need to get themselves ready by then, we cant afford any lollygagging in growing up.
 
Never have heard or read the term used in the OP. Looking for “Age of Ascent” brings up a video game. The term I am familiar with is “Age of Majority?” :shrug:
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

I agree with the notion that we really aren't biologically an adult until our mid 20's, and agree with your logic on the law and military service being centered on that... but it's my feeling that if we're considered by law as an adult at 18 and can fight and die for our country, how can we tell them that they can't drink?

If anything I wouldn't mind seeing the age of ascent moved to 21 for everything.

.
 
The “more developed” the brain is, the harder it is to get them to go fight.
 
Adolescence no longer ends when people hit 18, according to updated guidelines being given to child psychologists.

The new directive is designed to extend the age range that child psychologists can work with from 18 years old up to 25.

It is hoped the initiative will stop children being 'rushed' through their childhood and feeling pressured to achieve key milestones quickly, reports the BBC.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...young-people-getting-inferiority-complex.html

I Object.
 
Never have heard or read the term used in the OP. Looking for “Age of Ascent” brings up a video game. The term I am familiar with is “Age of Majority?” :shrug:

Yes, its "Age of Majority". I used age of ascent as kind of a click bait, though it is appropriate depending on how you think about it. ;) Usually when one talks about "ascent" they're either talking about climbing something or evolving to something "higher". In our society the age of majority is a rite of passage from childhood to adult. As a child many do not get the same freedoms that adults do, their restricted so to speak. Additionally most adults discount what children have to say where as as adults you're more likely to be listened to. So their "ascending" to a higher tier of society so to speak.

Essentially its just a play on words. :)
 
The society cant afford to babysit people who should be able to function on their own, we already have an extreme lack of resources.

I say keep that age at 18 and tell youth that they need to get themselves ready by then, we cant afford any lollygagging in growing up.

But that's the thing, if a brain is not fully developed then they are not biologically able to properly function on their own. You're big on getting things done properly aren't you? If a brain is not fully developed then how can someone get things done properly? And you can't really rush proper education which takes time so I wouldn't call it "lollygagging".

I disagree with you on the "extreme lack of resources" but that is for another threads discussion.
 
I agree with the notion that we really aren't biologically an adult until our mid 20's, and agree with your logic on the law and military service being centered on that... but it's my feeling that if we're considered by law as an adult at 18 and can fight and die for our country, how can we tell them that they can't drink?

If anything I wouldn't mind seeing the age of ascent moved to 21 for everything.

.

I would imagine that a suggestion such as mine would have to be done incrementally. 21 would be good for now but going along the lines of biology it should eventually be raised to 25. Otherwise I can't really disagree with what you said. :)
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

Or why not implement an IQ test for the right to vote?

Some 16 year-olds are more intelligent and politically informed than many 60 year-olds. Brain development or intelligence or political understanding are not the issue. The issue is that it is immoral to enforce decisions on others without them having at least a collective right to consent or dissent. That was one of the core rallying cries around which your whole country was founded!

Even 16 year-olds are not children; in past societies they'd be expected to have kids of their own by then. It is good and advantageous that our physical brains continue developing for a decade after that, and good that (hopefully!) we still continue learning and growing into our 30s, 40s and 50s too! But trying to create some single definitive line where you suddenly become an 'adult' is historically, biologically and socially untenable. For sexual relations the age of consent generally varies around 13 to 16 years in different countries. For paid employment or car licencing, 14 to 17 years. For alcohol purchasing 18 up to 21 years (though parents would be wise to demystify that forbidden fruit before then).

Young people should be eased into their rights and responsibilities as adults. In the case of military service or gun ownership, which are big responsibilities with relatively little to recommend them as rights, maybe a case could be made for putting them on par with alcohol laws. But having a voice in the way in which you're governed is one of the most fundamental rights there is.
 
Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

Even back in THE GOOD OLD DAYS wisdom seldom set in before the 40's, now it comes later or not at all. And then there is that so many people above the age of 25 behave as children...just look at DP for demonstration.

I have no use for the brain scanners, they mostly see what they want to see, they are nearly useless.....they have a new toy that they are trying to build careers on but it is mostly nonsense.

Here is a link you might find value in:
Controversial science of brain imaging
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/controversial-science-of-brain-imaging/
 
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On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

What we are going to face with this debate is a fairly large backlash from not just the 18-24 group who would see their conditions change but all the secondary implications of moving "age of ascent" to 25 impacting everything from taxation to economics, higher education implications to military conditions, and so much more.

Arguably of course, being an "adult" at 18 allows for certain things. Being able to enter an agreement or deal with all the financial implications of obtaining a higher education, impact to the military and the options that sometimes allows which is again more or less an agreement, how one is classified in terms of work eligibility and taxation on it.

Before we even get into the constitutional implications of moving voting rights and 2nd Amendment rights to adhere to the age of 25 standard, we already are impacting education to some degree in terms of how that is handled, our military to a large degree on who can go, and economics across the board.

It is just not as simple as moving an age from 18 (or whatever else) to 25 as a standard assuming all other things stay constant, and that is a common fault among things like this assuming we can control what is impacted and presume no unintended consequences (that always tend to show up anyway.)

Because of this conversation we would have no choice but to consider what happens to age restricted material we control for the purposes of social standard but implicating economic behavior as well, like being able to buy tobacco or alcohol products. In some states being able to purchase marijuana as well. Perhaps age restricted media (music, movies, games, etc.) Intended or otherwise it all ends up in the debate since we have no real single standard for adult enough for all these things. Moving some standards to 25 and ignoring others only makes worse the issues we face now on what a 16 year old can do, or 17, or 18, or 21, etc. We already have a slide scale on when someone is "adult enough" to make a choice and moving things to 25 while ignoring all other things where age standards are all over the place does not really help us all that much.

We are not really looking to science to help us with what "age of ascent" really means, we are partially doing so but assuming that we have solved a problem as if nothing else will happen with the move. Odds are it will. And we already know why, regardless of the standard some will try to do things before their time anyway.

For the purposes of civility we'll ignore for now the age of consent, age to enter into marriage, etc. or said another way all the other social implications of telling someone under 25 now they are not adult enough to make those choices without a parent.

The idea of looking to science to tell us when someone has a fully developed brain to make these mature choices makes sense, our issue is what the social and economic implications are of creating a single standard then trying to move everything around to match that standard.
 
Why do you object? What about their logic is faulty?

Humans react poorly to coddling.

That which is not good for us should not be done.

Look at the nonsense taking place at the failed University today driven by helicopter parented customers for demonstration.
 
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On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

And then anyone with brain damage, such as, perhaps, football players should have these privileges taken away?
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

In Biology (unless things have radically changed since I got my degree) adulthood occurs when the organism (Human or otherwise) has reached SEXUAL, not mental, maturity.

It is a natural biological design allowing the species to perpetuate, based on a state of nature where each species is competing for resources and survival.

There is a reason the human brain is not "completely developed" until almost a decade after sexual maturity, and that is because sexually mature youth is more mentally adaptable and physically flexible when learning to deal with environmental conditions and threats.

So no, I do not support the idea that just because scientists think "brain maturity" has somehow become vastly more important over the last few years in spite of hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of years of evolutionary development.

This is why I support 18 as the age of "legal" adulthood, while also supporting 16 as the age of sexual consent. IMO that is more in keeping with natural human biology.
 
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On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

The reality is that putting an age on maturity does not solve any problems given that a good portion of people never mature. Trump is a perfect example of a 74-year old man remaining a child in his thinking. As such, perhaps what should be considered is a test that people have to take before allowed to vote which would determine their capacity for evaluating reality.
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

Are we talking about the age of assent? That is the age when someone can legally agree to sexual relations.
 
On occasion I always end up seeing some thread or another that questions why the "Age of Ascent" (being considered an adult) is at 18 and then goes on to list reasons why it should be lower. I'm going the opposite direction for this thread.

Biologically speaking our brains are not fully developed until about the age of 25. Yes, it varies from person to person, and even between genders there is a difference. But on average, generally speaking, the age is about 25.

At What Age Is The Brain Fully Developed?
Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature

Based on that, should we start reflecting this in our laws? Meaning move the age of being considered an adult to age 25? Being able to vote at the age of 25, serve in the military at age 25, buying a gun at age 25 etc etc. It would make sense to.

Of course I'm sure that anyone between the ages of 18-24 would be saying HELL NO! to such a suggestion. But quite frankly since your brains are not fully developed why should anyone listen to you? You're not able to think with a fully developed brain which means your thought processing ability is still limited.

Discuss. :)

25 makes much better sense.

18 is very young, especial in this day and age.

It was 21 when I was young but it was changed.

However, we need to remove the stigma of people having kids too young.

It has gotten ridiculous. Talk to the current generation and you'll find folks are so spoiled they promote the idea that age 30 is the youngest one should have kids.
 
The reality is that putting an age on maturity does not solve any problems given that a good portion of people never mature. Trump is a perfect example of a 74-year old man remaining a child in his thinking. As such, perhaps what should be considered is a test that people have to take before allowed to vote which would determine their capacity for evaluating reality.

MOst people. by a lot, never mature.

Humans are selfish, petty, manipulative, liars, thieves... it's not just Donald.

Humans are a failed species.
 
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