How old are you now?

What makes a person seem younger or older (maturity, as I would term it) when you discount the statistics given about that person, his appearances and voice? Some people are physically older, but seem less "mature".

Firstly, I think the way the term "mature" is sort of defined as implies that it is a quality that we can find in older persons, so perhaps we shall see what this quality is, and how it is acquired.

We could first identify what qualities old people have, then see if given this quality and nothing else, this person can be considered as mature. If not, then that is not maturity. Otherwise, it *might* be (considering the syllogism it would be, but I cannot think of all possible counter-examples).

-Physical age: certainly not, old people with serious dementia?

-Lots of experiences: I would not consider one with lots of experiences but extremely cynnical to be mature.

-Amount of time spent thinking: This implies that people with or without experiences have the same potential of being mature. However, that does not seem to be the case.

-Independence: This is interesting. Could one be independent and not mature? But it seems like one could be mature without being independent.

-Pragmatism: On the extreme end of pragmatism, one could be cynnical, and cynnical people are generally not considered to be mature.

Okay I'm too lazy to think of more things. It seems like maturity isn't very easy for me to define.

So where does maturity come from? Does it come with age? I think this is certainly the case, because all mature people are of a certain age, and except in cases where mental diseases come in, there are no cases where a person becomes less mature as he grows up. Perhaps other things that come with age make a person mature.

Let's try a different route. Let's see the traits that mature people have and see how they might be acquired.

-Practical: They may have dreams, just like children, but they have an idea of how to achieve it.

-Sensitive: They are aware of how their actions can affect other people.

-Humble: They are aware that they are not so good at certain things and are willing to listen.

I think those are the most outstanding traits of a mature person. These traits have one thing in common: they are aware of something important. How did they find out about these: from experience or thought? It seems like only a combination of both can yield maturity.

So, in order for a person to "acquire" maturity, one would need to go out and gain exp, then think through these experiences. Reading would help too, because it enable a person to learn certain things without experiencing it himself. A person with lots of experiences may not be mature if they do not reflect on it. Analogy: In MMORPG games there are many people who are at a high level, but there are some who know more about the game than others. This comes from reading, thinking, and interaction with other players.

But is maturity something one would like to acquire? Mature people don't seem to be happy (though they seem less disgruntled than cynnical and weatherbeaten people), yet they don't piss others off either. While it is a good thing to have mature people around, is it a good thing to be mature? Perhaps immature people can bicker about petty things and be proud that they won a quarrel, but mature people don't get such cheap thrills. It may be harder for a mature person to be happy.

Yet is being happy the ultimate goal? Although the theory of hedonism can account for almost all behaviour, it is afterall a theory used to explain something that people can measure, and the "hedons" themselves cannot be measured. This theory is only internally and externally consistent; and this say little about whether it is true(it only means that it is not disproved until another better, testable theory is found).

So perhaps people can aspire to be mature, despite the consequences. Oh well, good luck and have fun. I would want more mature people around me. (No, this is not to say that people around me are immature. This sentence has somewhat the same effect as saying "I wish my boyfriend was richer.")