View Full Version : The secret of youth is ignorance
Christian
10-10-2006, 11:02 AM
What does it mean?
PierreGringoire
10-10-2006, 05:16 PM
It means this. When you are young you are mostly prejudiced as being 'ignorant.' So to be ignorant is to be young. Which I think is not necessarily the case in all circumstances.
My view:
A Youth or youthful dispostion is usually described as being care-free, optimistic and energetic. To be care free and optimist at all times requires ignorance.
I still don't think that "The secret of youth is ignorance " is correct - it is not like a fact.
Also it is usually assumed that those who are ignorant care least and thus suffer least from cruel facts of life (e.g. brazen injustices that one can see daily) and therefore age less (and don't turn into a bitter cynical creep).
hitchhiker
10-10-2006, 10:10 PM
Ignorant- Having no knowledge
Youth- a young person
Young- Offspring
Offspring- new
If something is new it has no knowledge hence The secret of youth is ignorence.
Christian
10-11-2006, 10:04 AM
They'll never let you know they have it
ShoutGrace
10-11-2006, 01:08 PM
It means this. When you are young you are mostly prejudiced as being 'ignorant.' So to be ignorant is to be young. Which I think is not necessarily the case in all circumstances.
Every case is quite different, I would say.
If we are talking extreme youth (as in fetus or newborn) then they are as close to ignorant as any mind is (though they still have 'knowledge' of their surroundings . . . and their needs, to an extent).
Unfortunately, with the phrase given I get an idea about a middle aged person commenting on a surly teenager, or something to that effect.
Knowledge effectually comes with age because you have more time, and less hormones. :D But it is quite obvious that a 30 or 40 or 50 year old can have a vastly smaller amount of knowledge than a 10 year old. It depends on what they've learnt, how much time they've spent, etc. Of course then the 10 yr old had to spend time doing other things, because of the society he lived in, no doubt. Which is all well and good.
The phrase is lacking everything, it really means nothing (is it really a 'secret', anyway?).
Christian
10-11-2006, 01:16 PM
Everyone of us is ignorant, some more than others
sybilline
10-16-2006, 06:36 AM
"The secret of youth is ignorance". By the way, it seems that ignorance is a thing largely shared by too many people all around the world. As far as I am concerned, I think that asserting such a thing is rather flimsy. Even if ignorance is often associated to innocence and purity, it leads to nothing but dramatic issues. "La planète des singes" ("The Monkey's Planet") is a good example. And why would it be a "secret" ? Because it is valuable, something to hide, unshared by the others ? Innocence must not be mistaken with ignorance.
k-k-k-kellywah
10-16-2006, 06:43 AM
try innocence, it better discribes youth and is a complement in this degenerating society
optimisticnad
10-16-2006, 10:33 AM
ignorance is bliss
youth are (apparently) happy and carefree
therefore their secret ignorance
what an illogical arguement!
Mary Sue
10-16-2006, 11:41 AM
The less you know, the easier it is to enjoy life and be happy because you aren't AWARE of so many unpleasant realities.
The young child playing in a sand box doesn't KNOW that grandma is in the hospital dying of cancer....or that North Korea just tested a nuclear weapon...or that her favorite uncle has a drug problem. That's why said child can laugh and play and be so carefree! Ignorance is her advantage and overall, the advantage of youth.
And as the child grows up, acquiring more real-life experience and knowledge of the world, the more hard facts she'll have to confront all the time. She'll become sadder and wiser and a lot less happy, as we all do over time.
Chrysalisyah
10-24-2006, 05:48 AM
Everyone of us is ignorant, some more than others
We were all naive in our young days. As we grow up, we gain more knowledge and understand the consequences of something. :)
Chrysalisyah
10-24-2006, 05:49 AM
The less you know, the easier it is to enjoy life and be happy because you aren't AWARE of so many unpleasant realities.
The young child playing in a sand box doesn't KNOW that grandma is in the hospital dying of cancer....or that North Korea just tested a nuclear weapon...or that her favorite uncle has a drug problem. That's why said child can laugh and play and be so carefree! Ignorance is her advantage and overall, the advantage of youth.
And as the child grows up, acquiring more real-life experience and knowledge of the world, the more hard facts she'll have to confront all the time. She'll become sadder and wiser and a lot less happy, as we all do over time.
V true. :thumbs_up
Eagleheart
11-14-2006, 05:27 PM
The secret of youth is unburdensome knowledge...I have witnessed some kids asking tolerably more reasonable questions than smart grown-ups... And being young does not provide an explanation for cheerfulness,rather being a grown-up gives you "prerogatives" to elude responsibility for your afflicted life/ if I am not mistaken the term was " a victim of fate"/...and "cheerless" diposition...There is nothing that points that accumulating knowledge is afflicting,but more like grown-ups can hardly endure accumulated knowledge...
/note that the author is still young/
sam96
12-14-2006, 04:38 PM
i always understood as in the youth is on the inside.someone who knows will always have a raving,never resting never settling mind,more worries,more thoughts about things he'll never solve weighing it down,while an ignorant's mind is not empty ofcourse but has much less concerns allowing it to believe what it wants to believe so it has nothing to age it.
p.s.
:yawnb: i think i kinda lost the point lol
kilted exile
12-14-2006, 05:08 PM
Ignorance is not just the secret to youth......it is the secret to happiness
IamMissingaLink
12-14-2006, 08:31 PM
Ignorant of what exactly? The bothersome aspects of life?....i dunno about that.
Kids deal with difficult things in life but are able to remain cheerful becuase they are yet to develop the habit of living in the past/holding onto things.
Same **** but different view of reality.
subterranean
12-14-2006, 08:33 PM
Ignorance is not just the secret to youth......it is the secret to happiness
Well said!
kilted exile
12-14-2006, 09:00 PM
Ignorant of what exactly? The bothersome aspects of life?....i dunno about that.
If I dont know about something I dont worry about it, if I dont worry about it I am generally happy.
There are trade-offs with this happiness however, a trade I am not willing to make. I would rather be less happy and aware of my surroundings, than a smiling fool who doesnt know what's happening - Never Trust a Happy Man;)
subterranean
12-14-2006, 09:13 PM
If I dont know about something I dont worry about it, if I dont worry about it I am generally happy.
There are trade-offs with this happiness however, a trade I am not willing to make. I would rather be less happy and aware of my surroundings, than a smiling fool who doesnt know what's happening - Never Trust a Happy Man;)
When it comes to our surroundings, I wonder if we, in general, are willing to take further step to make ourselves feel better.
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