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Child Scientists Working Today
In today’s modern society, is a 16 or 17 year-old person still a child? Legally, yes, and most of us would still regard such high school age kids as just that—kids, not adults or “grownups.” So, I was amazed yesterday and today to learn about the highly advanced scientific research being performed by an elite group of “children” in high schools throughout New Jersey, USA.
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Posted by Russell Blackford on 04/02 at 08:27 PM
Interesting, Mike, but ... um ... 16 and 17 year olds are definitely not children, and I'm a bit surprised to see you refer to them that way. They are young adults. I'd have been (I still think rightly) offended at that age, or even younger, if someone had called me a child.
That said, it's certainly pleasing that we have a group who are doing such great work. Modern life being as complex as it is, it's often difficult these days to gain expertise in anything until deep into adulthood. Many of our smartest people are close to 30, or even older, by the time they finish their initial education (with a law degree or a medical degree or a PhD). It's actually a serious problem that there's this disconnect between that age and the much younger age when we are entering adulthood and are ready to make decisions of consequence about our lives.
Posted by Mike Treder on 04/02 at 08:36 PM
Maybe that's a semantics question, Russell. I can't accept the term 'young adult' for someone who is not actually an adult. They might be 'adolescents', or 'youths', but I think the term 'young adult' is simply intended as flattery to these kids. If you hang around them, you can see that their overall behavior - if not their scientific ability - is still more childlike than adult.
On the other hand, in pre-modern times, someone at 12 or 14 was more than likely expected to start taking on the roles and behaviors of an adult. I know it's a minor point, but I still found it fascinating to contrast their social nature as kids with their accomplishments as actual scientists.
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