He hated it when adults told him he only felt the way he did because he was young. As if being young was like being insane or drunk, like the convictions he held were hallucinations caused by a mental illness that could only be cured by waiting five years.
Interpretation
This quote expresses frustration with the dismissive attitudes of adults towards the beliefs and feelings of youth.
Cory Doctorow highlights the often patronizing perception that young people's thoughts and feelings are invalid or irrational simply because of their age. He argues against the notion that maturity necessarily brings clarity, suggesting instead that youthful convictions have merit and should not be dismissed as mere folly or temporary insanity.
In practice
In discussions about generational differences, this quote could be used to highlight the importance of valuing youth perspectives.
Content isn't king. If I sent you to a desert island and gave you the choice of taking your friends or your movies, you'd choose your friends -- if you chose the movies, we'd call you a sociopath. Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about.
... the Kindle is a "roach motel" device: its license terms and DRM ensure that books can check in, but they can't check out.
Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by the DRM, they go out and buy the cracked books or download the cracked books for free. It’s only people who are foolish enough to pay for them that get locked into these platforms.
To reclaim the prodigal is well, but to save him from ever being a prodigal is better.
No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished.
Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it, are beggars, even if they have great material wealth. They are looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love, while they have a treasure within that not only includes all those things but is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.
If you want to live an authentic, meaningful life, you need to master the art of disappointing and upsetting others, hurting feelings, and living with the reality that some people just won't like you. It may not be easy, but it's essential if you want your life to reflect your deepest desires, values, and needs.
Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned.
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