# Deep thinking at a young age.. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 16, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402 "2010-08-16T11:26:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/1 "2010-08-16T11:26:01Z")
… can lead to inner crisis and uncertainity. This is a user comment ( first page , last comment) on this you tube video [" formal operational child "](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw36PpYPPZM&NR=1). Do you agree ? Please comment . ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/2 "2010-08-16T11:59:02Z")
I would disagree… if I knew what those terms meant. Anyone got a working definition of “deep thinking”, “inner crises” or “uncertainty”? As it is… the claim seems to be that advanced cognitive abilities make for unhappy kids; intelligence = bad? _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/3 "2010-08-16T17:12:37Z")
I’m so curious. I can’t youtube at work. Anyone in the mood to flesh out a bit for me what is going on in the video? ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/4 "2010-08-16T17:51:36Z")
It’s a video about abstract thought- they talk about how if you ask a bunch of pre-adolescents a hypothetical question like “what would happen if humans didn’t have thumbs?” they answer a different way than teens. They have a bunch of kids who are all, “well, we wouldn’t be able to write very well and we wouldn’t be able to give thumbs up or thumb wrestle…”. Then they ask a teenager and he goes (paraphrasing), “wow, the world would be so different! I had a friend who was left-handed and he said the world was made for righties, blah blah desks and doorknobs, so the whole world would change if we had no thumbs” ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/5 "2010-08-16T18:31:32Z")
Thanks, SurrenderDorothy. I appreciate that. Blocked websites at work drive me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/6 "2010-08-16T18:52:39Z")
The video more or less shows that small children are dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/7 "2010-08-16T19:07:02Z")
The small children in the video aren’t necessarily dumb, just thinking in immediate and concrete terms. The teenager’s comments, while much lengthier, aren’t particularly more insightful. “The whole world would be different,” without any expansion or detail, doesn’t actually carry a lot of meaning. Deep thinking at any age can certainly lead to inner crisis and uncertainty. That could be an argument for _or_ against deep thinking. Deep thinking can also resolve inner crisis and uncertainty. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/8 "2010-08-16T20:40:24Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > The video more or less shows that small children are dumb. Hey, you try letting someone know they’ve done a good job without a thumb. And don’t give me any of that V for Victory crap. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/9 "2010-08-16T20:48:50Z")
Thumbs up all who thought the little kids made more sense than the stupid rambling from the older one? \ …and does that mean I’m less mature than a 5th grader? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/10 "2010-08-16T20:53:38Z")
The high schooler was rambling? He sounded clear to me–things would change in really deep meaningful ways if we didn’t have thumbs. It would be a lot bigger of a deal than just “no thumbs up” or “we can’t thumb wrestle.” We’d have a completely different society/culture. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/11 "2010-08-16T21:04:21Z")
OK, from the OP I thought the point was that small children who are capable of abstract thinking are likely to be unhappier as adults. The followup explanation suggests a different point: small children of average intelligence, when presented with abstract thinking, react differently (negatively?) that older children. As a person who engaged in a lot of abstract thinking at a younger age than my peers, I have always felt that this strong philosophical foundation has helped me deal with life’s trials better than the average person. (The ability to cope is not the same as happiness but it enables happiness.) I also know a child with an extraordinarily high IQ and capable of very advanced ideas, and he is one of the happiest and best adjusted children I have seen. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/12 "2010-08-16T21:05:40Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The high schooler was rambling? He sounded clear to me–things would change in really deep meaningful ways if we didn’t have thumbs. It would be a lot bigger of a deal than just “no thumbs up” or “we can’t thumb wrestle.” We’d have a completely different society/culture. The guy took like an hour to say “things would be different”. Not exactly profound thinking. He might as well have said “that would be whack, dude”, the kiddies at least could put their finger on the specific problems that would arise. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/13 "2010-08-16T21:07:34Z")
> [@GHO57](#): > > > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > > The high schooler was rambling? He sounded clear to me–things would change in really deep meaningful ways if we didn’t have thumbs. It would be a lot bigger of a deal than just “no thumbs up” or “we can’t thumb wrestle.” We’d have a completely different society/culture. > > The guy took like an hour to say “things would be different”. Not exactly profound thinking. He might as well have said “that would be whack, dude”, the kiddies at least could put their finger on the specific problems that would arise. Well, yeah, but he wasn’t just trying to say that things would be different. He was explaining how we might assume it was just a little change because we take having thumbs for granted but really if we think about it, it would be a society altering change. He didn’t necessarily say all that eloquently but he is still a teen. Plus, it showed that he really thought about the question. It wasn’t just a simple question and answer for him–he put real thought into it. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/14 "2010-08-16T21:09:03Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > > The video more or less shows that small children are dumb. > > Hey, you try letting someone know they’ve done a good job without a thumb. And don’t give me any of that V for Victory crap. … You win this round. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/15 "2010-08-16T21:14:22Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > It would be a lot bigger of a deal than just “no thumbs up” or “we can’t thumb wrestle.” We’d have a completely different society/culture. It would be a lot bigger deal than _that_. Opposable thumbs are a major, major evolutionary development. I don’t know that we could have ever _been_ “human” in a comparable sense without them. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The opposable thumb has helped the human species develop more accurate fine motor skills. It is also thought to have directly led to the development of tools, not just in humans or their evolutionary ancestors, but other primates as well. The opposable thumb ensured that important human functions such as writing were possible. Note that it was one of the little ones who mentioned writing. The teenager’s analogy to being left-handed in a right-handed world is really weak. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/16 "2010-08-16T21:20:24Z")
Well, yeah, but I mean, he was on the right track. Besides, it’s not like the question was how would the world change if we’d never had thumbs. It could have been, how would the world be if we suddenly stopped having them. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/17 "2010-08-16T21:34:56Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > [@GHO57](#): > > > > The guy took like an hour to say “things would be different”. Not exactly profound thinking. He might as well have said “that would be whack, dude”, the kiddies at least could put their finger on the specific problems that would arise. > > Well, yeah, but he wasn’t just trying to say that things would be different. He was explaining how we might assume it was just a little change because we take having thumbs for granted but really if we think about it, it would be a society altering change. He didn’t necessarily say all that eloquently but he is still a teen. Plus, it showed that he really thought about the question. It wasn’t just a simple question and answer for him–he put real thought into it. It might be because I live in a country where there simply are no doorknobs, a lever works the same no matter what hand you use… and school desks don’t have hand supports. So, being left handed here is in no significant way different from being right-handed. That might cause me to see his insight as not only less than deep, but also categorically false. Besides… [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iah3BtCRw_U). To quote the great philosopher [Jarppi](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RnWGZk__ZE); “who needs a thumb anyway?” ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/18 "2010-08-16T21:35:41Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > The teenager’s analogy to being left-handed in a right-handed world is really weak. Not really. His point was not that changes a lefty has to make in a right-handed world would be similar to changes of us not having thumbs. In fact, he was acknowledging the extraordinary difference between the two. His point was that if you look at the (relatively minor, but daily) adjustments that left-handers have to make due to the world being largely configured for the right handed, we can reasonably assume that if both our hands were completely different, and we did not have thumbs at all, the differences would be immense. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deep-thinking-at-a-young-age/550402/19 "2010-08-17T01:47:46Z")
> [@GHO57](#): > > > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > > Well, yeah, but he wasn’t just trying to say that things would be different. He was explaining how we might assume it was just a little change because we take having thumbs for granted but really if we think about it, it would be a society altering change. He didn’t necessarily say all that eloquently but he is still a teen. Plus, it showed that he really thought about the question. It wasn’t just a simple question and answer for him–he put real thought into it. > > It might be because **I live in a country where there simply are no doorknobs** , a lever works the same no matter what hand you use… and school desks don’t have hand supports. So, being left handed here is in no significant way different from being right-handed. That might cause me to see his insight as not only less than deep, but also categorically false. Besides… [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iah3BtCRw_U). > > To quote the great philosopher [Jarppi](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RnWGZk__ZE); “who needs a thumb anyway?” Will you share which country you are from ? I am curious .