I remember my teenage view of the world.

Some of my thoughts at the time came from the idea that I was the only one who understood the world and the “old” people just didn’t have a clue. After all, what would they know. I realised later on that I wasn’t alone in thinking that I knew what no-one else knew, it seems to be an affliction of being a teenager. Perhaps it could be helpful to explain this idea to teenagers.

Anything that existed before I was born was irrelevant, classified as being history. I think that I put my parents generation as being equivalent to cavemen and as cavemen were suggested as being not very clever, I was going to revolutionise the world using my superior skills and abilities.

I was very quick to understand adult conversations, or so I thought. I did not realise that while I was able to understand the words and their meanings, I did not have the background knowledge or life experiences to understand the way that the conversation fitted in with the world. At the time I hadn’t learned enough to know that I didn’t know very much.

Perhaps the weight of knowledge and experience that my parents had inevitably slowed down their speed of adjustment to new ideas. It makes sense when you consider that everything new must first be considered in the light of existing knowledge. The weight of existing knowledge affects all of us. I remember teaching my children to ride and duly bought bicycles with small wheels to provide stability while they learnt. The newest techniques are simply to give children very small bicycles without pedals. I could easily have removed the pedals for my children but was hamstrung by the existing knowledge of how “everyone” did it.

When I was a teenager there were no computers, mobile phones, etc., that provide the modern fix of instant gratification. I had access to news where there were always new ideas on the horizon, especially attractive to youth. I was a teenager when the first windsurfer appeared, something that was new and exciting for me, but seen as a bit odd by “serious sailors”. An easy illustration of looking for new ideas can be seen by how quickly youth adapts to new technology.