As we get older, something happens to our way of thinking. For a long time, this perplexed me. I felt that I couldn’t trust anyone over 30. What was even more disturbing was that my sisters were turning 30 soon. Could I not trust them?
As I got older, I learned what this phenomenon was. Memory becomes “crystallized” so to speak, as we get older. Young people are better at learning new facts, but have trouble recalling them. Old people are better and recalling old facts, but have trouble learning new ones. On top of that, their goals change. Young people want to learn, while old people do not.
This causes old people to act like they know it all, when they don’t. They remember where they were when John Kennedy died, and so they assume that they know more in general than kids do. However, Adults don’t know how to do a derivative, nor do they remember why the Dada movement was so significant. They don’t know how to write a paper, or analyze data. They are very ignorant on most topics. This is a good reason to not trust them.
The rule should be “don’t trust anyone who has given up on learning, and isn’t willing to admit when they are wrong”. Most adults fall into this category, but not all of them. Keep an eye out for the “good” adults.