Sunday, October 14, 2007

7 Up

The 7 Up documentary project which started tracking a group of 7 year old kids in 1964 is based on the Jesuit maxim: "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man." I just saw the 49 Up episode and I was amazed by how little difference there was between these people at age 7 and age 49. Resilience, low self esteem, confidence, ambition all seemed to be hard wired in these people. Only Neil had an extreme shift, at 7 he was bubbly and bright, but at 49 he was dour and lost. Everyone else seemed to have the same disposition regardless of their social class.

Seven year olds are sensitive about differences between themselves and others. They're competitive and hard on themselves. Social justice concerns and seeing issues from multiple perspectives are hallmarks of their development.
Child Development Tracker


Interview with Elliot about his life as an adult:

Will you have kids?
I'm going to have a big house with 7 kids.

Do you think you'll live in Seattle?
No, I'm going to live in California where it's warm. I'm going to live near Grandma Judy.

What will you do for job?
I'm going to be a race car designer. Fast electrical cars.

What will you do for fun?

I'm going to play football and play with my friends.

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