Letter: On the question of when adulthood really begins (1)

From Ron Dippold, San Diego, California, US

In my many decades, I have never met anyone under 25 who would qualify as an “adult” (including the younger me). The brain just isn’t done (12 November, p 40).

I think adulthood is a matter of attaining several traits: being less selfish to people around you (though this often atrophies later), good risk evaluation skills and abandoning childhood fancies.

Adulthood isn’t a panacea – young people like Greta Thunberg can often achieve things an adult couldn’t because they don’t have the last two of those traits.

Finally, a lot of people never grow up. For example, antivaxxers never manage the first two traits. In the worst-case scenario, you can end up with a selfish, petulant, perpetual toddler.