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Maturity
Topic Started: Dec 13 2008, 09:19 AM (138 Views)
Pez201
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Tonight I was thinking: what defines a "mature" person? Uni was the first time that I was surrounded by people my own age and older on a regular basis, and I found that many of the people I got along with the best were older than me (one by three years, one by a decade, one by three decades). And by "got along with" I mean if I saw them anywhere outside of class I got bailed up for a conversation. :P

But I found that with people my own age at uni that never happened. I've never really connected with anyone my own age (i.e. late teens, at uni straight out of high school). That's not to say I don't get along with people my own age at uni, but that it's never been more than casual talking.

I guess there are no 100% correct answers for makes a "mature" person, which is why I'm here asking. So post something below. :lol:

Intelligence - IQ scores give a good (although not perfect) idea of intelligence. A high IQ score does not guarentee maturity, someone who tries to know and understand everything can have "paralysis by analysis". Having to analyse EVERYTHING and have a "reason" for doing ANYTHING is not, I think, a sign of maturity.

Life experiences - Does experiencing difficult times make someone more mature?

Entertainment - Does liking Jackass or the Dirty Sanchez movie* (Pritchard v Dainton!! :lol: ) make someone immature? (if so, it sucks to be me! :P ) Does liking a certain style of music (i.e. classical music) or TV show make someone mature? Is someone who reads lots of novels (not me) more mature than someone who reads nothing more than the TV guide?

Culture - Does knowing the philosphical ideas of Old Dead Greek Dudes make someone more mature? Shakespeare? John Stuart Mill? Various other writers who I have never heard of?

Thoughts, ppls.








* I bought it on DVD about three months before it was released in North America, my proudest movie-related fact :P
"I never said i was the first person..yesh. I admit Pez was the first one to throw a goat" - Fin
Leader of the Canadian Fat Whale Party from 21/5/08 - 29/8/09 and from 1/8/09 when his 48 hour brain fuzz cleared up. :D
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Omnivorous
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I would think that there are staged situations with multiple choices which could show how mature someone is, but I cannot think of any.
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Kyleslavia
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Very interesting thing to consider Pez.....

I can relate to you Pez in the sense that I get along very well with people who are older than me. I get along with basically everyone on NS Canada, and may of you are older than I. However, I also get along with the younger members of this region who are around my age.

On the other hand, outside of NS Canada, I chill with people who are basically the same age as I. It's an interesting situation.
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Lorelai County
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It’s a very good question. And I agree with you that there is no universal answer to this (as for all what involves human’s subjective perception).

If we try to bring “Maturity” in broad sense down to a common denominator, the result of “Maturity” might be seen as the authorization to do independent decisions (might be limited) and/or to provide for oneself and/or others (e.g. family, clan…).
However how this “Maturity” is reached and how the process of it looks like depends on cultural affiliation, personal experience, society’s expectations, gender role, etc… Some people might see maturity just as anything after puberty, others as the availability to vote or even just to drive a car, others as having a job or accomplishing a test of courage… It’s interesting that gaining maturity is often seen as bound to a specific event.

But in my personal view there is nothing like a clear boundary between maturity and immaturity. It’s a steady process where you are learning to be a better human (well, what is a better human? :P ) and gaining a better understanding of the world. This might be reached through education (philosophical) or lifetime experience.

For visualization maturity/immaturity might be like a mesh where every knot represents abilities, personal characteristics or knowledge/experience, influencing each other via the interconnections. Depending on someone’s personal perception some knots might be more important or solely sufficient than others for reaching the level of maturity for others the process never ends.
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Jack Tarr
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While I agree there is no single answer, I think one thing that has a major effect is when (and if) a person gets to that age when they finally realize they no longer know everything. Until that point, maturity is just a pipe dream. :grandpa:
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jDELIGHT
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I agree with ^. Another hallmark of maturity is taking responsibility for your own actions, whether that's watching "stupid" movies, driving wrecklessly fast, sitting at home on a Saturday night or eating too much food.


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"Your only true land based hope are aerodynamically correct goats." JT
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Almonaster
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As most have said, "maturity" is not a single attribute, but a cluster of attitudes, mostly gained by experience. In addition to those already listed, I would point to...

  • Letting it go. Someone may be wrong, but don't rub their face in it.
  • Basic politeness. A little appreciation of others goes a long way.
  • Taking a wider view. Others usually have reasons for what they do. It may seem odd / inconvenient to you, but try and work it out before shooting your mouth off!

A lot of that could be categorised as restraint, but there is a flip side - speaking out when necessary and (politely) sticking to your guns.


One final titbit - the thing you find most irritatingly "immature" just now is probably the lesson you yourself have most recently learned. Think back a year and cut them some slack. :B)
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Niongor
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I remember when I was 14 and got told off by a neighbour for "acting immature". I told my Great Grandma and she said, "Mature is just a word stuffy people use to justify their not having fun!" :P

I think maturity is basically when you can judge for yourself what right and wrong is.

As for the getting on with older people, I get along with almost everyone. So long as they're not a complete dick, I get on fine with people.
"There is no next time: it's now or never!"

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Saskatchewan Warriers
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I suppose that one of the things I like about forums like this one is that they mask identities. I know I am a relative newbie, but I have posted enough on the forum that some of you have begun to "know me".

How old am I? How do you know?

Am I male or female? How do you know?

Am I mature (for my age) or immature (for my age)?

Do I really live in Saskatchewan? How do you know?
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Omnivorous
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Don't tell him what you know, he's a spy :ph43r:



I would consider myself a mature person but I know that a few minutes of "immaturity or silliness or fun and games" during my day make me (and I assume others) laugh :)
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Jack Tarr
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Am I male or female? How do you know?


Everyone knows there are no womenz on the internetz, just menz and FBI agents. :garpa:
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katemmanza
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You are as old as you feel and as young as you act.
Smartness does NOT equal maturity.

If you saw me playing with barbies and coloring books would you think me immature?
What if I was doing those with my kids? Then would I be mature for spending my time with them?

I love to have fun and be silly! On occasion, I think that I do act immature, but what's wrong with that, when life is so serious all the time? I take care of my finances, I take care of my family.

As stated in above posts, maturity is the ability to make one's own decisions and take care of responsibilities. If you work a job and get your bills and rent paid, or if you go to school and take care of tuition and get the best grades you can, then acting silly sometimes and watching 'dirty' videos is not immature. ;)
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Pez201
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Lots of replies... good. :P

Quote:
 
Letting it go. Someone may be wrong, but don't rub their face in it.
Basic politeness. A little appreciation of others goes a long way.
Taking a wider view. Others usually have reasons for what they do. It may seem odd / inconvenient to you, but try and work it out before shooting your mouth off!


Very true. Some people can get weirded out by the smallest things and I'll think "let 'em do their own thing, as long as they're not hurting you".

Quote:
 
While I agree there is no single answer, I think one thing that has a major effect is when (and if) a person gets to that age when they finally realize they no longer know everything. Until that point, maturity is just a pipe dream.


Agreed. I hope my know-it-all phase is over... I think it is... I don't know. :P

Quote:
 
But in my personal view there is nothing like a clear boundary between maturity and immaturity. It’s a steady process where you are learning to be a better human (well, what is a better human? :P ) and gaining a better understanding of the world. This might be reached through education (philosophical) or lifetime experience.


I think the steady process thing is very true. Being surrounded by people my own age I've seen a real mixture - people who I admire and look up to for they way they handle themselves when there's an issue, and on the other hand, some people my age who think the world revolves around them.

Quote:
 
Am I mature (for my age) or immature (for my age)?
Do I really live in Saskatchewan? How do you know?


I think you're very mature for a seven year old and Google Earth tells me you live in BC. Sorry, I couldn't resist. :P

Quote:
 
You are as old as you feel and as young as you act.
Smartness does NOT equal maturity.

If you saw me playing with barbies and coloring books would you think me immature?
What if I was doing those with my kids? Then would I be mature for spending my time with them?

I love to have fun and be silly! On occasion, I think that I do act immature, but what's wrong with that, when life is so serious all the time? I take care of my finances, I take care of my family.

As stated in above posts, maturity is the ability to make one's own decisions and take care of responsibilities. If you work a job and get your bills and rent paid, or if you go to school and take care of tuition and get the best grades you can, then acting silly sometimes and watching 'dirty' videos is not immature. ;)


I would agree with all of this, which is why I quoted the whole post. Once we've proven ourselves mature by doing well at work/education and fulfilling our responsibilities, we can do pretty much what we want. As I said in my opening post I love the Dirty Sanchez movie (rated R18 in Australia for "crude humour and disturbing scenes") and I've always thought it highly "immature" to watch, but watching Pritchard get shot by 103 paintballs while naked, or watching them drink shots of vodka mixed with liposuction fat always gets a laugh. :rofl:

And it's a nice contrast to those who go somewhere and you hear them later basically bragging about it to everyone around them, and I think "do me a favour and can it, will you?" <_<

Quote:
 
Another hallmark of maturity is taking responsibility for your own actions, whether that's watching "stupid" movies, driving wrecklessly fast, sitting at home on a Saturday night or eating too much food.


Like those people who say "oh, I eat blue vein cheese with butter and grow to the size of a hippo because it's in the fridge and it's all so nice". No, you eat blue vein cheese with butter because you have no self control. A couple of years ago, I got sick and couldn't have dairy products for a month. No milk, cheese, butter, yogurt. I love all that stuff, but for a month I didn't touch any of it (even though there was plenty of it in the fridge) because if I had dairy I'd get sick again. So no temptation. :D

Quote:
 
On the other hand, outside of NS Canada, I chill with people who are basically the same age as I. It's an interesting situation.


Same. Most people I talk to are a couple of years older or younger, except for the uni example.

Quote:
 
I would think that there are staged situations with multiple choices which could show how mature someone is, but I cannot think of any.


Hmm.. I guess there'll never be a way to give a point score for maturity, or anything like that. :eyebrow:

This may be the longest post I've ever made. :thumbsup:
"I never said i was the first person..yesh. I admit Pez was the first one to throw a goat" - Fin
Leader of the Canadian Fat Whale Party from 21/5/08 - 29/8/09 and from 1/8/09 when his 48 hour brain fuzz cleared up. :D
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jDELIGHT
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jDELIGHT,Dec 14 2008
05:40 PM
driving wrecklessly fast

LOL - i believe i meant "recklessly," but i hope people drive "wrecklessly."

:rofl:

A 21-Skwerl Salute for the Dizzy Twirling Hippy Chick!

"Your only true land based hope are aerodynamically correct goats." JT
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Niongor
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jDELIGHT,Dec 16 2008
03:22 AM
jDELIGHT,Dec 14 2008
05:40 PM
driving wrecklessly fast

LOL - i believe i meant "recklessly," but i hope people drive "wrecklessly."

:rofl:

LOL :rofl:
"There is no next time: it's now or never!"

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disposablepuppetland
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I'm not sure about maturity, but I have noticed that there seems to be more young people around nowadays. Far more than there used to be. It's most disturbing. It's getting to the stage where there'll be more young people than there are old people. Where will it all end?
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jDELIGHT
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disposablepuppetland,Dec 17 2008
01:53 AM
I'm not sure about maturity, but I have noticed that there seems to be more young people around nowadays. Far more than there used to be. It's most disturbing. It's getting to the stage where there'll be more young people than there are old people. Where will it all end?

A grave question indeed. :P

A 21-Skwerl Salute for the Dizzy Twirling Hippy Chick!

"Your only true land based hope are aerodynamically correct goats." JT
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Pez201
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disposablepuppetland,Dec 17 2008
12:23 PM
I'm not sure about maturity, but I have noticed that there seems to be more young people around nowadays. Far more than there used to be. It's most disturbing. It's getting to the stage where there'll be more young people than there are old people. Where will it all end?

In my home town they usually start breeding when they're about fourteen or fifteen years old.
"I never said i was the first person..yesh. I admit Pez was the first one to throw a goat" - Fin
Leader of the Canadian Fat Whale Party from 21/5/08 - 29/8/09 and from 1/8/09 when his 48 hour brain fuzz cleared up. :D
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