Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with youth

How old were you when you first genuinely fell in love with someone...

WhitenoisE — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:29:58 -0800

How old were you when you first genuinely fell in love with someone that resulted in a relatively lasting, satisfying relationship? I'm 23, I've had crushes and dated a girl for about 3 years from the end of high school through the middle of college. While I had some of the best memories of my young life with her, looking back I feel like we were more friends than lovers. Since it was my first "serious" relationship that started in my teens, I made a lot of romantically retarded mistakes and I don't think I was a very good boyfriend most of the time. The decision to separate was pretty mutual, although it was still somewhat painful.

Since then I've had several short flings with people but never a lasting relationship. I know I'm still very young and probably have a lot of years ahead to find someone, but after a few crushing disappointments I still feel a little hopeless and desperately lonely at times. I'm good at being a loner, (and it's much less complicated), but I long for a real mutually supportive relationship.

Ever since I moved to a new city a thousand miles from home, I've been emotionally isolated for almost six months and it's taking a toll on me. I'm desperately lonely. I've tried online dating a bit but it has always led to either creeps or flickers of hope followed by crushing disappointment. My life is just work and then hiding away in my apartment almost every night and weekend. I recently fell for someone who I got all the right signals and signs of affection from, but learned out of the blue via text that he doesn't feel the same way I do and just "sincerely wants to be friends". That's not going to work. I like him too much and know better than to torture myself like that.

I'm physically attractive, educated, financially stable and can hold a good conversation, but I have trouble putting myself out there. I hate bars, I'm disenchanted with the idea of online dating, I find myself just waiting for someone to fall into my life (not a good life strategy in general, I know). I'm at a vulnerable and somewhat unstable point in my life. Although I'm in therapy (both talk and medical), it's just barely keeping me together. I'm so lonely, bored, and feel so hopeless that I'm starting to spiral into a pattern of drug abuse that I find increasingly easy to rationalize in the state I'm in.

The only bright spot in my life right now is that I have a wonderful family (mom, dad, brother) that I love more every day, but they're so far away, along with all of my close friends. I have a nice pet that I love. I wake up crying every few days.

A Reflection on Youth

slowlikemolasses — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:59:23 -0800

Would you please help me remember the specifics of this short piece about youth? These are the things I think I remember about it: Between 200 and 400 words. By an American author who wrote in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and/or 90s. Discussion of his deteriorating sex drive. *Fireworks*, *firecracker*, or some other related word is used in reference to his former sex drive.

What's that quote about summers as a kid?

ldthomps — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:43:13 -0800

I'm wracking my brain and google for a quote. I'd swear the quote was from EB White's Once More to the Lake, but I've reread that without finding the line in question. It was very much in line with the sentiment of the essay, saying that any place one spent summers as a youth gains a special, immortal place in memory. Maybe something about those places being a "paradise forever", only I remember "paradise" as an ancient Greek or Latin word like "Elysium". "Elysium Forever" just gets me death metal songs, though.

Ring any bells? Any better searchers out there?

Wishing I was blind to attractiveness, semi-sarcastically

ichomp — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:20:18 -0800

How do you deal with the damaging ways that society evaluates women? Society (esp. men) value women largely on appearances and youth. Lately, I've noticed that I view women that way too and it bothers me that I view my own gender and myself in such a damaging way. For example, I noticed younger men and women more. I have also noticed how unfair it is that in the media, actors have a much longer career than actresses. I'm more aware of women's biological clock and how that affects a lot of the most important decisions in their lives (while men don't have such restraints). I am noticing all the ways that time seems to favor men over women, and it bothers me 1) I have to deal with it; 2) my viewpoint contributes to that.

Right now, I am at a favorable age but I am very aware that youth is temporary. It makes the advantages of youth feel very shallow, and I keep thinking how it feels to lose that. I feel objectified, and I don't like how much value society places on women's appearances, because surely there is so much value to a person at all ages. I don't like how looking good is a value itself. Perhaps when I am older, my view of beauty will change and I will notice and appreciate those who are older too. I also know that besides being an ego booster, being noticed by strangers doesn't mean much. In addition to that, my paying more attention to younger and prettier people doesn't mean much to older people. Nonetheless, it bothers me that as I get older, I'm supposed to be less valuable when the older I am, the wiser and better at handling things I would be.

I realized that lately, I've been placing a lot of value on looks and it bothers me that I play into this whole damaging way of evaluating myself and others. I mostly evaluate strangers this way, not people I know, but it still bothers me that I am paying more attention to better looking people. It feels unfair, and I am the same person who asked that question. Being young makes me feel like I have a lot to lose, and it's a feeling that really bothers me. Is being young really such an advantage, or is being older pretty good too? I can imagine feeling so free when I am older, because I no longer have to care about this.

PS. Part of me is scared that if I have a partner, he, like society, will not value me as much when I am older. I know too many disgusting examples of this. Truthfully it makes me feel very insecure to get married, because I don't believe that most men are deep enough to appreciate their partners for things beside appearances-- their character and how much they contribute.

I welcome your thoughts from either gender and all ages. Thank you.

Help my 18yo niece get to Asia

Long Way To Go — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:46:36 -0800

What options in the USA are there for sending my 18yo niece on a trip to Asia with a group of similarly aged folks this summer. My partner & I have cared for our niece for the last few years. She's a high school senior just about to turn 18 and headed off to university next Fall. An all round great kid. I know she would really like to travel to Asia this summer (she's in love with Japanese and Korean popular culture). Financially I can afford to make this happen and would love to do it as an 18th birthday present. However, while I would be quite happy to put an 18yo (Adult in my view) on a plane, on her own and tell her to have a blast - the rest of the family (my partner and my sister-in-law, the girl's mother) absolutely are not.

So in order to make this happen she would have to go as part of some organized trip or school or university program where I can plausibly say somebody is looking out for her. I know there are plenty of 'tourist' tours to these kind of places - but it really looks they're for an older crowd - and focus on visiting a lot of temples and gardens rather than getting into the popular culture or interacting with the local kids.

She has traveled with me to Europe several times and has flown within the USA several times on her own so I don't expect she'll have no problems navigating to wherever she needs to go. She's intelligent and responsible, but I wouldn't call her "street smart". Despite my best efforts she is not into outdoor activities so a physically demanding (biking, hiking, mountain climbing) trip wouldn't be enjoyable.

So my question is: what's out there?

Indoor sports photography lens?

Doofus Magoo — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 05:27:56 -0800

What is a good lens for shooting youth indoor sports when I will be close to the action? I'm going to be taking pictures at an youth (8-12) indoor futsal tournament in a couple of weeks. What would be a good (Nikon) lens to rent for the day?

The tournament will be held on an indoor roller hockey rink, with lighting that is somewhat decent. I will have access to the rink while the games are going on, so long focal length isn't too much of a priority.

I've got a 50mm f/1.8 that can take very good indoor sports photos, but would a telephoto f/2.8, like the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S ED or a Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 II EX DC HSM be a better choice? Or do I need to stay with the wider aperture, in which can maybe a Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S ?

I've got a Nikon D5100 if that matters.

Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset

four panels — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:55:39 -0800

Why has there been no new youth subculture since 1998? 1960s had hippies, '70s had disco and punk, '80s had hip hop and goth, '90s had grunge. And yet kids and twenty-somthings have been wearing trucker caps and ironic sunglasses for 15 years now. What happened?

Employment resources for teens

nerdcore — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:02:14 -0800

The non-profit where I work runs an employment program for teens. I've been tasked with helping to come up with content for a facebook page for this program. We'll be posting info on local job opportunities, but I'm looking for more general resources on employment & education for teen audiences. Are there any good blogs or websites? Podcasts? Youtube channels? Books worth reading & recommending? Other sources for ongoing content? Ideally, these sources should not be geared towards a college audience, most of the youth we work with are still in high school or have dropped out and we are helping them in obtaining their GED.

Nikon D5100 lens for youth sports?

Doofus Magoo — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 05:31:24 -0800

I'm going to rent a lens for my Nikon D5100 for the weekend to shoot a bunch of youth (8-10 year olds) soccer games. What would be the best lens at a reasonable price? We've got a barrelful of soccer games this coming weekend at which I'm going to be taking a whole bunch of pictures. My current go-to lens is a Nikon AF-S 55-300 f/4.5-5.6. I love it to death, but am looking for something with a bit better reach. What lens is going to give me the best results at a reasonable rental price?

The games will all be played in full daylight (between 9am and 4pm), and I can get fairly close to the action (pretty much camped on the endline with a monopod)

I'm seriously considering going with the Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG HSM OS ($69.75 for a four-day rental) and praying for a sunny day. I know it's not terribly fast, but the 8- to 10-year-old girls we're going to be watching aren't exactly world-class athletes with 4.4 speed.

The Nikon 200-400mm f/4 would be awesome, but at over $200 for a four-day rental, is a bit more than I want to spend.

Thanks!

What are the ways we could expand services and support available to LGBT young people online?

Kirn — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:22:10 -0800

What are the ways we could expand services and support available to LGBT young people online? I have to convince a panel that I'm the person to increase the online reach of a UK-based LGBT youth charity, giving young people greater access to advice, support and opportunities. We want to reach more LGBT young people, particularly those living outside of cities, and to better use the varying resources of the online world to support those that we reach.

I'm already planning to talk about Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, phone, forums & email contact (plus producing videos & podcasts) - though if you have anything specific to offer in how to use these services in this context your help would be welcomed.

I'm more interested in what I'm missing. What novel ways might such an organisation reach out to young people online? Are there social networks/websites I'm not aware of that we might usefully expand into? How could we best use them? Am I thinking too narrowly?

I'm especially interested to hear from anyone who is LGBT who has insight into the kind of online presence and services they would like to see, or would have liked to have been available in their youth. What was missing for you that we could provide for LGBT young people now?

I appreciate this is a pretty open question, but any thoughts, suggestions or advice you can provide would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Cool brands/products for youth that are no longer cool?

red_rabbit — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:35:25 -0800

Help me think of examples of brands/products that used to be cool, connected & sought after by youth (let's say 17-25) around the world, but have fallen out of favor. I'm preparing a project as part of an interview for a marketing job, and my task will be to build a marketing plan to bring this brand/product back to its glory days. No small task! For this reason, I'm looking for things that have some potential for resurrection, rather than brands/products that died for a good reason.

How can I look my age and not my shoe size?

eq21 — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:05:50 -0800

I'm 26 with a young looking face. I also tend to dress casually and don't really want to spend a long time getting ready in the morning. I used to wear some lipstick and eyeliner to make me appear older, but I want to project a more natural look. What can I do to make myself look more my age? Glasses? Darker hair? Certain hair styles? I do have short hair up to my shoulder.

How to recapture your 20s

st starseed — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:55:51 -0800

For practically everyone I know, myself included, their 20s contained the best times of their lives and many experiences that likely will not be repeated or enjoyed as thoroughly as they get older. What is the secret for me - or anyone else - to recapture the magic of youth as life goes on and responsibilities grow? More details, including snowflakes, inside. Let's take Age 26 as an example of happiness. For me, that was about half of 2006 and half of 2007. I had a job that didn't pay too well but was challenging, enjoyable, and allowed me to watch Major League Baseball for free 81 times/year. (I worked for an MLB team.) The people at my job were some of my best friends; we went out a lot to bars or movies or to eat or play basketball, made great memories, and keep in touch. I was living in Florida, which allowed me to swim almost year-round and go to the beach whenever I wanted. Out-of-state friends and family visited fairly regularly, which, again, allowed for great times and great memories. I got married to an amazing woman and had arguably the best day of my life - our wedding day. I visited Hawaii and travelled a few times (but not too often to be annoying) for work. Life was simple and life was good, filled with fun and joy.

Fast forward about five years. My wife and I moved back to our home state (for a variety of reasons, which are somewhat relevant here but rather lengthy), bought a wonderful house (for cheap) in a fine school district, and just had our first baby (he's healthy and wonderful). My wife gets to see her family more, we get to see our close friends consistently, and I have reconnected with my alma mater. We make enough money to live comfortably, give to charity and often volunteer. We're both healthy. I exercise regularly, am part of a book club, don't overwork, and see my two best friends almost every week, usually more often than once a week. I host poker tournaments about once a month at my house. I avoid excessive television and internet usage. Yet...it all feels sort of...hollow. I think I made my bed, settled, grew up...whatever you want to call it, and it's really not sitting well with me.

Thus, back to the question...how to recapture the magic of 26 (not to mention 21 and 22)...how did you do it? (Bear in mind: While as appealing as stopping it all and moving to a beach in Hawaii (for example) sounds great in theory, I do view it as unrealistic.)

Headlong into adulthood. What to read?

Morrigan — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:10:22 -0800

Remember that book you read at exactly the right time in your life? Looking for recommendations for books for a young man 17/18 years old. What would that be? On the Road? Slaughterhouse Five? The Magic Mountain? What stays with you?

Slim Slacks of the shelf, anyone?

Bengston — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:20:59 -0800

Where do the more fashionable young men in NYC get their slacks? I need some nice pants and I don't want to look like my father. Where can I get some fashionable, slimmer, non-break, pants in NYC? More details:

I have a wedding to go to in the first week of March, it is in Jamaica and fairly casual so I am trying to keep things light. That being said, I do not want to be as casual as my parents have suggested (t-shirt under sports coat, shorts at anytime.)

I plan on wearing this sports coat. I have just about everything I need for the rehearsal dinner, etc. Now I just need some more formal pants to go with the coat for the actual wedding. I am 24, fairly skinny, and normally wear a 32-32 jean.

Suggestions for specific pants, as well as stores that I may not have heard of already would be very much appreciated. I would prefer not to have to go to a tailor, but understandably that is how you get the best fit. My budget is in the $100-$250 range.

Thanks!

Practical tips around positive support of youth, program structures that work, behavior management, and incentives

mathmatters — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:02:21 -0800

My wife is the director of an after school program that serves low income minority youth in grades 3 through 12. She is looking for practical tips to share with direct service staff around positive support of youth, program structures that work, behavior management, and incentives. What resources might you recommend (web or print)? What suggestions do you have as to what's successful or ways to assist in training and supporting staff within programming. Thanks.

Dealing with Unruly Youth

Anonymous — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:02:48 -0800

I was harassed by some teenagers on the street and kicked one of them, how could I have handled this better? Last night, when I was walking home from the coffee shop, three teenagers at a bus stop asked me for a dollar and I turned them down. As I started to walk away, one of them started calling me obscene names, so I turned around and confronted him. When I told him he should be careful what he says, he blew me off, so I told him I was going to take his hat as payment (which was a fancy ball cap.) When he started to fight me, I kicked him in the crotch, and all three of them started to go crazy punching me until the bus came, which was rather soon. They were scrawny kids, so mostly all it did was make me laugh, but that's beside the point.

Basically, my original intention was just to teach them a lesson in civilized behavior at my neighborhood bus stop, but I feel like I ended up being the more uncivil one myself in how I acted. I blame some of this on being in a rather poor mood last night when it happened, but that shouldn't be a reason. What could I have done differently? Or better yet, how do I interact with the unruly youth in my neighborhood without going all Charles Bronson?

Youth Care - what to learn

divabat — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 04:20:09 -0800

You're a young person, in your 20s or so, and you've noticed that quite a few of your similarly-aged peers & friends are in desperate need of care due to major mental and emotional health challenges - which are taking a toll on everything else. However, support services for this group are lacking. What could you learn or train in to be able to be a better source of support and care for your peer community? As my last few AskMefi questions have demonstrated, I've lost a couple of close people to suicide this year. They've both been in their 20s, dealing with severe mental health issues for a long time (PTSD and bipolar disorder). They're not the only ones I know who are facing this, and I'd rather not lose more people to their own hands.

I've noticed that support for our age group is shockingly lacking, at least here in Australia (though I don't think my US-based cousin would have necessarily been better off). Some issues I've seen:

* There's training and services for childcare (up to about 15-16) and elderly care, but nothing in between
* Resources for those with disabilities tend to focus on the physical; there is some attention to psychiatric issues, but they need to be "Severe" - as it is my friends are having trouble finding adequate people to diagnose them (there has been some controversy about the local mental health system)
* They have just enough economic privilege to not be homeless and to be able to afford basic needs as well as the occasional indulgence - most youth programs tend to be geared towards homeless & severely disadvantaged people. However, many support systems available cost more money & time then any of us can afford. (A retreat I queried cost $30,000 for 3 weeks - that could pay expenses & then some for a year.)
* One service that does tend to be regularly accessed is checking into a mental hospital for a while, where you're under observation and there's a counselor and so on. It seems to be helpful, but they also often report being quite bored, mostly because their phones and Internet - their main means of access to the outside world - are taken away and they're not really left with much to do. For some of us, being actively involved in something is a HUGE help, and personally it's been the lack of Internet thing that's stopped me from checking in myself when I could have used it - the boredom would destroy me further (I'd be stuck in my head).
* My peer group tends to not be very trusting of Government and bureaucracy anyway, and for good reason - Centrelink (welfare) can often be painful and penalise you for trying to make things better for yourself, paperwork can be more extensive than possible, and some have been on the wrong end of the law just for protesting or not looking right

One of my good friends has a number of chronic physical conditions and at one point desperately needed food to be able to survive the next day. My friend and I were able to organise a supply for a few days, and we tried looking for places that will do this regularly for her. No one could help - they either needed her to provide more paperwork than she was able (she could barely even get out of bed), or had a months-long waiting list, or needed money, or just don't do emergency food supply. This really shocked both of us; we can't afford to care for her 24/7, even the menial Carer's Pay the Gov gives you won't be enough to cover either of our needs (not that I'd qualify anyway, being on a bridging visa), and yet it's obvious that if there isn't enough regular help she's likely the next to go.

I'm frustrated. I'm pissed. I'm worried. I want to learn how to provide better support, better care, organise better care. Even just knowing what to do in times of crisis would make a huge difference. I'd like to be the sort of person you'd find at Youngcare (residential care for young people who'd otherwise find themselves in aged care homes),

I do have basic First Aid training, though it could stand to have a refresher, and some experience with women's rights/sexual assault issues, but what else is there? I've looked at TAFE (think Australian community college) and they've got some courses in community care and youth work, though more in a larger societal sense. A friend suggests a combo of youth work and nursing, which could be useful, though I wonder if there's enough to cover mental health and emotional health. I'm also greatly open to more unorthodox community-based issues; I know there's been quite a bit of work in activist communities around healing justice, which I think would intersect with my peers very well. Even something like "learn how to manage a crisis line" would help.

Please help me be a better help to my community. I don't want to see another life fall down the cracks.

What was the '90s homeschooled-kid's treatise on American politics?

Harvey Kilobit — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:32:55 -0800

In the late 1990s a well-educated 18-year-old boy, homeschooled on a farm somewhere like West Virginia, published a book commenting on American society and politics from a classical perspective. His story was covered by major newsmagazines, and he went on to an Ivy League school. Who was he? I vaguely recall it was supposed to be a serious, liberal book that talked about Jefferson and the Federalists, comparing their ideas to the current state of our culture, and used poli-sci words like "polity."

BONUS QUESTIONS:

1. Was it any good? I could never tell if the attention came from his precociousness or a real intellectual quality.

2. Is it worth reading in 2011? In the age of Bachmann and Beck, are that guy's teenage thoughts and predictions still relevant?

I know the magnitude of my life vector and now I need direction

shoebox — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:50:52 -0800

I've failed college and I don't feel like returning, at all. In fact, every single day I stay here seems like a waste. So, I might as well do what I was planning on graduation: Get as far away as possible and start over. Question is, where? After three terrible semesters in a row, my GPA has fallen low enough for me to be thrown out of my faculty. My options are either to appeal the decision and assuming I get back in try to complete my degree or try and transfer to another faculty and hope that enough credits transfer over. Trouble is, I only have three semesters worth of useful, good credits followed by a few D's and a long list of F's. By the most optimistic estimate, I still have another two more years of courses to complete my degree and more still to try for any other.

And that is assuming that I'd even want to stay. Living with my parents is growing more difficult each day as I'm dependent on them financially and they seem intent on using that to exert control over my life. My relationship with them has been steadily declining with my marks and this final embarrassment has driven it into the ground.

Yes, I am in therapy and on medication, so no advice of that nature please.

I have some money saved up (about 5 grand) and no debts other than govt. student loans, which I can keep from accruing interest while I maintain my status as a student. What I want to do is as follows: transfer to a community college* somewhere far away, probably the west coast and get a job and live on my own for once. I do eventually want to get a degree, even if it takes me another four years, as long as I can do it without the constant barrage of verbal abuse, weird manipulation and gaslighting.

So after all that, my questions are: Is this plan feasible? Where do I go (i.e. anything specific in the way of college recommendations)? Is there anything specific I should do or be doing?. Any recommendations or advice in general for an aimless 21 year-old is welcome. Thank you.

* I doubt any universities will still let me apply for fall 2011 entry.

You won't get your drugs if you don't eat your vegetables...

WhitenoisE — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:58:46 -0800

What are the likely health effects of not eating vegetables? Let's be real, most college-aged folks in western society (males especially) are not going to be eating leafy green vegetables on a regular basis unless their mommies are cooking. What health conditions can this lead to, and what is the mechanism of action?

I guess what I'm wondering is: are there concrete consequences in the short-term for a young person or is this the type of thing that only catches up to you when you're older? For the sake of discussion, let's pretend this hypothetical person eats a lot of fruit, avoids processed foods, exercises, has a healthy caloric intake, and all around eats decently besides avoiding vegetables.

(in before the snark: please don't say "if you already do all that crap you might as well eat your veggies." The hypothetical person isn't me, really! I'm just curious!)

Johnny Appseed

zresearch — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:20:10 -0800

Tell me about Youth app development projects, please!! Things like the Stanford Fall 2007 "Facebook Class" are a good starting point but we're even more interested in projects in underprivileged community (US/non-US) or developing country contexts that involve youths in app development (for any platform, not just Facebook and including mobile). Another example: Oakland Mobile App Lab
Articles (including relevant ones on apps in general), web links, resources and case study tips (including interesting non-youth ones!) are much appreciated! This is for the beginnings of an academic project, but both academic and non-academic leads very welcome!

Thanks!!!

Looking for Innovative US Right-Wing Youth Civics and Activist groups

zresearch — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:54:29 -0800

Looking for specific suggestions of particularly innovative successful/popular US national-level grassroots right-wing civics activist groups (can be conservative, libertarian, religious, non-religious etc. etc; but not extremist) for an academic research project. We are especially interested in youth-focussed/web & new media-savvy/participatory culture savvy groups. Any research report (academic or non-academic) recommendations are most welcome too. dear Metafilter Hive Mind, thanks very much for any help you can give me with this question.
I'm doing research into the US right-wing activist scene this summer and would appreciate any leads for interesting specific ("The Tea Party movement" as a suggestion is too general. "This specific Tea Party Patriot organization that is well-known to be successful with their YouTube strategy nationally" is more what we would like) right-wing groups / websites and/or research about them.

This is for an academic research project that looks at (non-extremist (i.e. non-violent), *popular/successful/national-level*) activist groups across the US political spectrum and is about the current state of grassroots civics activist groups (especially engaged primarily with youth, new media and participatory culture in interesting new ways) in the US in general (but US groups that focus on international issues are OK too). The research project does not have a left or right or centrist ideological agenda itself. We are primarily interested in the innovation in the types of youth grassroots activist practices and civics organizations out there regardless of their ideological preferences or specific causes.

Thanks again for any leads!
(and sorry for the rambling description - I've just had too much coffee :/ )

Anger Management for Kids?

odayoday — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:13:22 -0800

Looking for books on anger management for kids, age 12ish. A parent I work with has a kid who is aware that he has anger issues, and wants to control them, but doesn't know how. He also has fairly serious ADHD issues that the family is dealing with, but they're focusing on giving him tools for his anger right now. Does anyone have suggestions of resources for them?

You mean Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?

Myself — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:26:28 -0800

"You mean Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?" I'm looking for a modern equivalent to this phrase, meant to express the youthful ignorance of history, even very significant history. Especially when such ignorance surfaces in a way that's jarring to folks who were there. I just caught a young programmer friend describing language redundancy with "It's like why 'FOR' exists, when there's already 'WHILE'."

For the non-programmers here, the FOR loop has been around since the very early days of high-level programming, and WHILE is a relative newcomer.

So, I went to rib him with the McCartney phrase, and realized that he's probably never heard of Wings, either. Update, please?