Is age relevant to intelligence? People automatically assume your elders are wiser because of their age. Or the common notion sets the ideal that age comes with understanding, and logic.
But does it? Could a, say, 10 year old who has had a very complex upbringing show more promise in the intellect department than a 68 year old very sheltered man/woman? I think the first part of this question that has to be addressed would be maturity as it can play a huge role in “the mental age over physical age” belief mentioned earlier. Let’s compare 10 year old Cindy to 68 year old Lee.Cindy’s parents have always treated her like an adult, given her responsibilities, and put schoolwork first. Cindy is above average in academics, showing a vast amount of knowledge in engineering and aircrafts. But overall knows a lot about all subjects in a more book sense than lived through/in one. What I mean by this is she knows the facts, but hasn’t felt the experience.
Now, let’s look at 68 year old Lee. He has lived a very sheltered life, and never liked to read. Video games were his favorite hobby, taking up most of his time. So for the last 50 or so years his intelligence, worldly events, and innovations were slim to none.So who is more intelligent? A sheltered man with hardly any life experience, or a girl who has only been around for 10 years, but drowned herself in information.
Obviously Cindy, showing age is not connected to intelligence and wisdom. Another branch to this complex question would be wisdom. Well, what is the definition of wisdom? Wisdom is the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, insight, good sense and judgment. Obviously you would assume from that definition that wisdom comes from age and living through the mistakes and missteps to know right from wrong and learn lessons. But, I would disagree.
I think it has a direct correlation to maturity, which can be a trait carried old to young. Anybody can be mature, but somebody as young as a 7 year old can be wiser if they posses a certain amount of said maturity. By this I mean a 7 year old can say something mean or hurtful, feel bad, and apologize. Learning from that mistake and becoming wiser.
In conclusion, Intelligence does not directly correlate to age. Wisdom and knowledge can translate into all age groups old or young. So next time you doubt someones ability to grasp a concept because of their age, tell them! They may just surprise you.
