That’s complete bullshit. At 14 when I became internet savvy I had the pleasure of watching several marriages of older people fall apart, listened to countless personal stories on how not finishing high school/not going to college has a far greater affect at 40 than at 20. No substitute for experience? I hope making stupid mistakes with my life is not a requirement for maturity. :rolleyes: I’ve also spent serious time studying the sociological environment of the 1970s, and could probably publish papers on what it’s like to live through the decade, even though I haven’t lived it myself (on particular, researchable aspects, not a blanket I-know-everything, of course).
But that matters not because I’m young? Age discrimination seems to be the most prevalent form of discrimination left in internet communication, and it pisses me off, because like all other forms of discrimination, it’s completely baseless, ignorant, and harmful.
Reading about someone else’s marriage is in no way a substitute for actually experiencing marriage.
The thing is, anyone can publish a paper on research they’ve done on a particular topic. However, what they turn up in their research will be nothing more than the experiences of others. Great insights usually come from those who have experienced it firsthand.
Let’s say one person, age 14 has recently researched the sociological impact of divorce. A second person has recently been divorced. There will be certain details that the latter will know that the former cannot, even though extensive (but secondhand, at best) research.
Saying someone lacks experience is not a form of age discrimination. People of any age can lack experience in something. I lack experience in marriage and divorce and therefore am completely unqualified to offer an opinion on either. It is logical to assume that a 14-year-old would share that lack of experience on both fronts and would be equally unqualified.
The bottom line is that experience offers a perspective that mere research can never convey.
Actually, it is. Making stupid mistakes is how you learn in life.
And watching a marriage fail is not the same as being in a marriage that’s ending. And you watched through the Internet? Dude, you have much to learn about the difference between viewing and living.
So, what was it like to see Led Zep or Styx live? I know, but do you? What did you think of all Watergate all the time on TV and newspapers? When did you get your pair of click-clacks? That’s right, you never did. Watching isn’t the same as being. It’s like seeing a picture of India and actually going to India–not even close to being the same thing.
To quote Robin William in Good Will Hunting:
There’s tons of things I don’t know about–never raised a kid, never held someone’s hand as they died, never fought in a war. Some Dopers have and I bow to their experience in discussions because they know more than I.
Oh, get over yourself. you are not being discriminated against. Try talking to someone in their 50s trying to land a job that you suffer from age discrimination and see what happens.
Evil Captor, you misunderstand the nature of the ad hominem fallacy. The ad hominem attacks the character or circumstances of the person making the claim. So the “you’re a kid” can certainly be an instance of ad hominem–for instance:
A: Bush is an incompetent president.
B: Ah, you’re just a teenager, what do you know?
Clearly, that’s fallacious ad hominem reasoning. The age of the speaker has no relevance to his political views. But let’s try this:
A: Parents have life much easier than teens do–no homeowrk, no school, no worries.
B: Dude, you’re just a kid, so you really don’t know what being a parent is like.
Not really an ad hominem because the age and lack of experience are relevant to the discussion.
And any white person who claims to know what it’s like to be black in America is a damned fool.
I hope to god I know enough about failed marriages not to become involved in one. Whether that means I divorce quickly, or don’t get married at all, or break hearts by being distant, I am making decisions based on what I’ve learned, rather than diving in naively and screwing things up.
You’re essentially making the argument that studying history or social theory is completely worthless, because it doesn’t change our ability to lead our lives.
I was including them. Thanks for making the assumption that I wasn’t, simply based on my demographics. I don’t have to be 50 to understand that every day people are fired for being too old, sometimes for misguided social reasons (like believing “young and hip” writers will be able to write “young and hip” television), sometimes for financial reasons like cutting off a pension or health care costs.
And I don’t know what it’s like to be black in America, but I’d like to know, and I think it’s worth trying to understand, even if I can only scratch the surface. How dare you tell me that I should be forced to live in ignorance because I have the wrong skin tone, or the wrong age, or the wrong sexuality.
Where did you get that from? Nobody said that you should you be “forced to live in ignorance” nor that you have the “the wrong skin tone, or the wrong age, or the wrong sexuality.” You just to need to recognize that weven with the best will in the world, you;re going to hav elimits to your knowledge.
Let’s say that you go to medical school and become a gynecologist. You might even become a renowned expert on women’s health issues, but if you are male, you will never, ever know what having menstrual cramps feels like.
No, he’s not. He’s making the argument that reading all about France and learning French and eating only French food and living in a house designed by a French architect does not, in fact, make you French if you were born and raised in Duluth. You can attempt to recreate the experience as closely and authentically as possible, but you will still not know what it is like to live in France.
You can definitely learn a lot about France. You can know far more than even the average Frenchman knows about France. You can speak with a great deal of authority on matters French.
But you still won’t know what it is like, physically and emotionally and mentally like, to actually live in France. So a person who is actually from Avignon, for instance, will be able to more accurately and completely discuss local Avignon gossip and politics, no matter HOW much you know about French political theories and candidates and political parties.
You know very well how you got “roped in”! I’ve been sending you $100 per month to maintain your spy network, so we’ll know what the Brotherhood of Bush Bashers[sup]TM[/sup] and other subversives are up to. If you’d advertize more, we could spread the cost around…
Don’t forget; me and Mehitabel! We take turns in stalking. Mehitabel stalks Alde during the day-time posts, I do the night-time ones. We’re very busy with it. Work, social life, sleep, everything must yield to our stalking. We’re exhausted.
That’s why communications with our secret service operation sometimes fail. Ofcourse I know now how Aldebaran is doing. We’re up to date again.
