What defines adult?

[Reptillian]

There are some people who defines adults by the age of majority while there are people who defines adults as in the final development of every part of the body and there are also people who defines adults in the sense of maturity and responsibility.

My definition of being a complete adult is finalized development of the whole body.

When it comes to the sense of the final development of the whole body, the age of being an adult biologically usually goes somewhere in the 35-55 range since scientific evidence shows that myelination still do occur at mid-age and alcohol, wines, beers are known to cause some level of damages to the brain if taken too much. Scientific studies suggests that myelin level changes in the age of nearly 40.

Just one of the few pieces of links of articles that was inspired by documents and observations
http://harvardmagazine.com/2001/05/the-brain-at-midlife.html

My definition of being a partial adult is that neurological scanning shows that the gray matter should match the average of typical and healthy legal adult would have and it doesn't matter what is the numerical age since people actually develops at different rate and each people are biologically dated differently. Development of the brain doesn't always directly change people's behavior and awareness level in some area. Numberical age only matters to me to a point since numerical age effects doesn't always show the person is closer to a normal and typical adult in biological dating.

By the way, can anyone move this to the correct section.

 

[ashitaria]

I myself define adults as simply people who have passed puberty. Nothing more, nothing less. Being and adult does not automatically grant maturity, intelligence or wisdom, the same way being a child does not automatically grant foolishness, ignorance and naivety.
"Adult" is just another term in the English language that is used for stereotyping. Not that stereotyping is bad, but that there are many presumed truths about adults.

 

[JONTON]

Without a context to necessitate such a label, it is meaningless.

 

[becca]

Can't say for sure, but I felt pretty old when I started being a called a grown up by kids.

 

[Keary]

I would have to say that adulthood is defined by the physical development of the individual. I mean if you determine it by the maturity level of the person than very few people in this world could be considered adults, when you look at how some elderly behave they could easily be called a child (and rightfully so) by the way they act. On the other hand oftentimes children of just ten years old will look at these "adults" with the expression "what the fuck?" written all over their face.

 

[DrSLudge]

whatever the legal age is in your area, that's how it usually is decided.

 

[DrSLudge]

Is there a one-syllable newspeak word for "adult" ?

 

[Stoic Beverage]

I define age purely by one's mind.

When a child realizes adults aren't perfect, he becomes a juvenile.
He becomes an adult when he forgives them for it.

 

[Da Blob]

Well, there was a time, when it was thought that when the human brain finally matured during/after puberty and adolescents graduated from the cognitive stage of Concrete Operations to the more complex Formal Operations stage of cognition, that would be a good indication of 'adulthood"

Of course, that was before it was discovered that only a third of the population make that transition as adolescents, with another third joining them by college-age, but then a third of the population never learn to think in the adult mode...

Needless to say this politically-incorrect scientific fact has caused the idea of measuring maturity by method of thought employed to be abandoned...