Hah, well, actually, in his defense, you could say this: claiming that twenty-two is still under the age of consent is not less groundless or arbitrary than any of the other random conventions accepted all round the world.
Honestly, since the brain doesn't completely finish developing until about age 25, give or take, it's actually more sensible than most. If not terribly practical.
I wonder, are you aware that IQ remains pretty much stable throughout your life? And that your IQ when you are 50 will be about the same as your IQ when you were 12?
Of course, IQ is only one aspect of intelligence. There are many important aspects of mental ability that are not measured by IQ test scores. In fact, intelligence tests show evidence that aging causes decline in many cognitive functions, including speed of processing, working memory and long term memory: they all peak in your teen years and decline steadily from age 20 to age 50.
And then there are, as well, tests to measure logical and rational thought - the analytical and associative capabilities of your brain. In these tests, middle and high school kids regularly score higher than working men in their twenties or thirties.
People often cite that line on how the brain doesn't completely finish developing until about age 25 as a pretext to deny young people (especially teenagers) the right to make their own decisions on a variety of subjects. They neglect to mention that the "development" that continues until age 25 simply adds more neurons and glia to the general grey matter network without any positive effect whatsoever on specific performances.
Which is a good thing, because otherwise we'd probably have to strip anyone under 25 of their rights to vote, marry, own property, drive a car, get a job or read yuri manga such as this one. Which would really suck.
last edited at Jun 8, 2019 12:14AM
