Which Is Stranger: Truth Or Fiction?

Interesting clip from Psychology News entitled Adults Don't Grow Up Anymore: British Researcher Blames Formal Education; Professors, Scientists "Strikingly Immature"...

"If you believe the adults around you are acting like children, you're probably right. In technical terms, it is called "psychological neotony", the persistance of childhood behavior into adulthood. And it's on the rise.

According to Dr. Bruce Charlton, evolutionary psychiatrist at Newcastle upon Tyne, human beings now take longer to reach mental maturity-and many never do at all.

Charlton believes this is an accidental by-product of formal education that lasts well into the twenties. 'Formal education requires a child-like stance of receptivity', which 'counteracts the attainment of psychological maturity' that would normally occur in the late teens or early twenties.

He notes that 'academics, teachers, scientists and many other professionals are often strikingly immature.' He calls them unpredictable, unbalanced in priorities, and tending to overreact.'

Earlier human societies, such as hunter-gatherers, were more stable and thus adulthood was attained in the teen years..."

Alright, this is not in fact, well, fact. It is a page from Micheal Crichton's fascinating new novel titled Next. Perhaps I'll post more on the book later (I picked it up yesterday and am halfway through as I take a break to publish this post), but when I read this I instantly thought of Lisa Nowak, the diapered astronaut who drove hundreds of miles to confront a rival for the love and affection of her man. I heard one brush-off this week that simply stated she need not be punished too harshly for what was obviously "a crime of passion", as if that makes it all justifiable. Hmmm, perhaps her legal team can call the intelligent Crichton as an expert and suggest she just hasn't grown up, therefore she need only be grounded...no pun intended.