Minecraft Blogs / Article

Setting the Record Straight on... Age vs Maturity

  • 1,825 views, 0 today
  • 17
  • 4
  • 42
Leeberator avatar Leeberator
Level 46 : Master Button Pusher
131
I've seen so many threads, comments, and forum posts surrounding the whole age vs maturity debate that it's getting annoying. Most people have said one of two things:

  • Age is a very good determination of your maturity, or;
  • Age has nothing to do at all with your maturity


While both are halfway true, neither is completely correct. So, it's time to set the record straight.

Age is a very good factor for determining the maturity of a large population, however it is not accurate at all on the individual level.

I am going to draw a comparison to the Body Mass Index, which is in a similar situation as the age vs maturity debacle. The Body Mass Index was created in Belguim between 1830 and 1850 by Adolphe Quetelet in order to create a system of measuring the overall health of a substantial population. A number derived from dividing a person's weight by their height squared (kg/m^2, or (lb/in.^2) * 703) is a good method of determining the overall health of a population in that it generates a rough estimate of the population's overall health, due to the large amount of people balancing out the extremely diverse set of body types. However, on an individual scale, the BMI simply does not work. Why? There are many perfectly healthy people in this world who are very muscular but not incredibly tall (thereby getting a high BMI rating), who are tall but thin (thereby scoring very low on the BMI scale), or are overweight but are otherwise very healthy (scoring high on the BMI scale). Those three types of people are relatively common, are perfectly healthy for the most part, and yet get "unhealthy" ratings on the BMI scale.

This correlates with the age vs maturity debate because both function in a similar fashion. It is safe to assume that, for example, most 12-year-olds can act immaturely at times. However, this does not mean that the 12-year-old reading this now is not mature; what that generalization is saying is that based on observations of large populations of people, 12-year-olds have been known to act immaturely when compared to older groups of people. On a large scale, the first bullet point at the top of this blog holds true, however at the individual level, the second bullet point holds true.

Everyone is different, so don't use a generalization to judge an individual, even if that generalization is true, because generalizations are just that -- a general observation about a large population.
Tags

Create an account or sign in to comment.

1
03/30/2016 4:06 pm
Level 22 : Expert Taco
FLAMESS123
FLAMESS123 avatar
Age does scientifically reflect brain maturity, physical maturity has nothing to do with it.. And brain maturation does not mean how serious they are, (Thats more or less a character trait.) It means the less mature they are, the more prone to bad decisions they are. http://imgur.com/Jn9Q7b2 This isn't really a philosophical argument, older people are closer to having more mature brain and less prone to mistakes. But I kinda see your point, because I would say I was a more experienced player than many people older than me (in plugins, servers, building, etc.) So maybe your argument should be that you shouldn't judge someone else's experience level specifically by their age?

EDIT: Also, none of us are fully mentally matured until we are 25, so you can't say a 12 year old is "mature", and don't worry, a 20 year old isn't fully mature either.
1
08/25/2018 10:32 am
Level 22 : Expert Blockhead
raidarr
raidarr avatar
Old reply, but hey, yours came 2-3 years after the blog was posted, so why not.

Women, in fact, are supposed to age at younger than 25. I doubt they're a large enough majority to matter, but I will just leave that on the record.

Context is key, really. There's a lot of factors that play into someone's presentation, and while age is a big modifier, it's far from the only modifier. See how it works for each individual, at the end of the day.
1
09/04/2015 12:36 am
Level 27 : Expert Scribe
BlueTideFSX
BlueTideFSX avatar
Well said, well said indeed.
1
01/04/2015 3:05 am
Level 38 : Artisan Ladybug
Lucy_the_Cow
Lucy_the_Cow avatar
This. ^
1
11/05/2014 3:56 pm
Level 52 : Grandmaster Dragonborn
luigi_vampa
luigi_vampa avatar
I'm 36 and one of the most immature people I know! :D
1
10/21/2014 7:33 pm
Level 19 : Journeyman Lumberjack
Al CatSplat
Al CatSplat avatar
For the blogs picture how do you takes side screenshot?
1
10/21/2014 8:01 pm
Level 46 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator avatar
I didn't. I took a screenshot of my brother staring at a sheep. :P
1
10/21/2014 8:48 pm
Level 19 : Journeyman Lumberjack
Al CatSplat
Al CatSplat avatar
I still don't get it.
1
10/21/2014 8:52 pm
Level 46 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator avatar
I took a screenshot of someone else.
1
10/21/2014 10:00 pm
Level 19 : Journeyman Lumberjack
Al CatSplat
Al CatSplat avatar
But how did you do it from the side?
1
10/21/2014 10:12 pm
Level 46 : Master Button Pusher
Leeberator
Leeberator avatar
I pointed the crosshairs at my brother, turned off the HUD, and hit F2.
Planet Minecraft

Website

© 2010 - 2023
www.planetminecraft.com

Welcome