Old age? What’s the point?
Stuff New Year. It is my birthday this week and I’m celebrating 33 years of not being run over, having my house burnt down or contracting a random disease. Always an acheivement in my book.
Obviously age has been on my mind lately, as it always is this time of year. The concept has been made even more salient for me by the strange combination of the American elections and a book I’m reading, The Social History of London by Roy Porter.
Listening to the analysis of the caucuses taking place in Iowa this week, I’ve heard more than a few people say that Barack Obama is too young and inexperienced. He is 46.
In The Social History of London, Roy Porter points out that William Pitt the Younger (British Prime Minister, 1783 - 1801, 1804 - 1806) was actually a reasonably good Prime Minister. He was 24 when he was first elected.
The book doesn’t mention whether the nation was aghast at Pitt’s youthful inexperience. I know Pitt the Younger is an extreme example, but maybe people were used to shorter life spans and young monarchs “running” the country back then (even though good old Queen Elizabeth II was 26 at her coronation I think).
In any case, I wonder how much our perceptions of age have changed over time?
And what exactly does old age have to offer other than conservatism and wisdom (allegedly) anyway?
Most great works of genius were done by younger people - Newton had discovered the laws of gravity by 25, Martin Luther had nailed his 95 Theses to the church door and kickstarted the reformation in his early 30s, Einstein had come up with the basics behind the theory of relativity by 26, Mozart had composed most of his repertoire by 30 and Marx had written The Communist Manifesto by around the same age. And by the time he was 26/27 George Harrison was an ex-Beatle.
This tradition of youthful over-achievement is made even more strange by the way our society continuously demonises young people - they’re all ASBO collecting, saddo 80s clothes wearing, knife wielding, binge-drinking, shallow consumerist, obese, lazy, Facebook addicted, media ’sleb/porn star wannabees. 30-somethings like me live protracted youths, desparately pretending that we are still young and cool and down with the kids. Younger people, particularly in their teens and 20s are definitely not perceived to be writing the political manifestos of tomorrow or turning science on its head.
I have no answers and I’m quite happy to be getting older, but the question of age does interest me - particularly how we so often seem to see youth as bad and as a problem to be solved, middle age as good, and older people, again, as an unwanted problem we wish would go away.
On a positive slant, I’ve bought myself seasons 1 & 2 of The Mighty Boosh as a birthday present. I think Noel Fielding was 31 or so when he wrote it so it should be ok, but Julian Barratt was an ancient 35…
Tags: 30-something angst, half-baked conjecture, hell in a handcart
January 7th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
My fear is that young people are becoming solipsistic, they aren’t taking any notice of the world around them, and that’s the smart ones…….
I hope it’s an unfounded fear. Maybe people don’t achieve great works in their twenties/early thirties any more because they don’t need to. I think you’ve pin-pointed something when you mentioned life expectancy. Then again, what is ‘a great work’ in this day and age?
I’ll leave you with two thoughts;
“Architecture students are like virgins
with an itch they cannot scratch,
Never build a building till you’re 50
what kind of life is that?”
“Never pet your dog when it’s on fire”
January 8th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
You have a point there about young people being solipsistic (and funnily enough on the same day I see your post, Mark Lawson says the same thing in Word magazine). I don’t know if that’s true or not - I make it my business not to know any young people! - but it looks that way.
And yes what is ‘a great work’? The new Radiohead album?? ;)
Crossed fingers there are some great works brewing in the pipeline somewhere. Actually, lots of people probably think that Facebook is ‘a great work’…
January 8th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I’m solipsistic to a degree, but it’s kind of a defence mechanism, it’s deliberate. Maybe that’s how it is for many people……..
Do they still radicalise the ‘yoof’ of today in Colleges and University? You know, give them the head start of a handful of misplaced optimism before they stumble into their thirties and start grudging the world rather than wanting to change it.
Yeah, like I was a teenage revolutionary………….
January 8th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I don’t think that the yoof have enough time to be radicalised at colleges these days - they’re too busy social networking and holding down jobs to pay for their formerly free education (in England and Australia anyway).
You’re sounding even more bitter than usual tonight Illman. Do as the queen does and have a Dubonnet or a Special Brew!
January 16th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
The first time I was accused of being ‘too old’, I was 22! The ‘Accuser’ was a male who was all of 24 himself, and clearly already forming his appetite for youthful flesh.
I decided at that point to ignore the whole construct as best I could. Most days I manage it. Most…