Glen -
It also seems (anecdotally) true
that parents try to give *their* children what *they* didn't have...
again leading to an oscillation in many dimensions with a time constant
of roughly the age of reproduction.
I often wonder how much of this is perceived oscillation versus actual
oscillation.
<snip>
In short, without some more comprehensive data, the complexity of the
possible relationship dynamics seems to be ripe for selective attention,
confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, etc.
It is always assumed (at least by me) that (at least my own) anecdotal
observations are not just at risk of selective attention, confirmation
bias and motivated reasoning, etc. but almost *defined* by it. This
might seem like a huge admission or dismissal of my elaborate offerings
and opinions... and maybe many here have already made such, but I value
the same from others in a way that I do not value objective observation
and analysis.
Selective attention might be the easiest to speak to. I value the
"point of view" implicit in others' "selective attention", especially
when it is particularly resonant or dissonant with my own. This
coupling, perhaps is where confirmation bias can come from "see! I TOLD
you so!" but it is also it's antidote: "Shit! I never quite saw it THAT
way!".
There *is* some batching, first correlated with the staging and
returning-from wars... and the second is simply the second order effect
of THOSE children coming of age and having their own 15-30 years later.
[...] So, I agree that the broad brush of "generation this or that" is a
convenient shorthand at best and a harmful fiction at worse.
The question is how much of the batching is a result of the measure (the
model) and how much is ontologically present?
I am pretty compelled by the stories (and presumed collected and
analyzed data) of the huge percentage of reproductive males who went off
to war in WWII for years, were exposed to various revalatory (including
traumatic) experiences, and returned to a cadre of young women who had
come of age in their absence, many finding a new empowerment in having
taken on the previously male-dominated jobs <rosie-the-riveter.image> .
What I find most useful
are the biochemical measures. E.g. increased life span, increased
cancer, increased rate of cancer survival, etc. I think if we can make
an argument for generational binning, it should be in the context of
those measures rather than (purely) cultural ones. (All these measures
have cultural influences, of course.)
I'm not quite clear on this point. I suspect you have something here,
I'm just not getting it yet.
Returning to the original context of my suggestion that it is time for a
younger generation than my own to take up the reins, I hold to that. We
"boomers" have proven on average to have a certain kind of narcissism as
well-earned as the "greatest" generation had a simple-minded
selflessness.
The _only_ thing that makes me wish the "longevity" people were onto
something (or that maintains the tiny shred of fantasy about vampires I
have left) is the idea that I could actually _watch_ any type of
evolution with some level of objectivity, however minimal. Although I
tend toward Taoism, my engineering homunculus rants and raves at not
being able to separate myself from the morass around me. And for that
reason, I agree with you about younger people taking over. The handful
of people I've "mentored", for better or worse, and watched go on to do
better than me (at everything) turned me on to the feeling. And that
feeling then extended to everyone, including young people anonymous to
me. I really enjoy hearing Renee' talk about how this or that doctor is
"just a baby", or hearing about some high school kid solving a
long-standing math problem, etc.
"Kids these days" are no different than they were in our (various,
skewed across decades) "day".
And yet they are... no less than we (adolescents in the 50's, 60's,
70's, 80's ...) were different from our parents and their peers?
... makes me want to freeze my head
before I die. 8^)
+1
- Steve
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