What the hell?! Is this a post about “The Matrix, Part 4?”
No…but that’d be cool!
“Neoteny” means “the retention of childish characteristics,” and it’s one of the hallmarks of human beings, according to several “pro’s.”
I was first exposed to the term by Frank Forencich at the first Exuberant Animal seminar last year. In EA terms, neoteny is the ability to continue to play even though you’ve reached “adulthood.”
I discussed the arbitrariness of the distinctions between “adult” and “child” in a previous post, but I’d like to revisit that post here.
What does it mean that we’re neotenous? First, it means that human animals remain undeveloped longer than almost all other animals. Ashley Montagu calls the process of development that continues after birth “exterogestation” (Montagu, pg. 91). Montagu wrote a book called “Growing Young,” all about the neoteny of humans, back in 1983.
We continue to mature practically for as long as we decide to do so. We can continue to learn new things until we die. We can continue to do things that children do, as long as we continue to do them, that is.
McDougall points this out in his book “Born to Run.” He says at one point that the reason the Tarahumara are such great runners is that no one ever told them to slow down, or that running was not “adult.” They start running as children, playing running games, and continue to develop their abilities deep into “old age.”
What strikes me most about the neoteny of the human race is that it is a recognized fact, yet conspicuously hidden from us. We can’t see it, because it’s right under our nose. I just saw a commercial for “Dave & Buster’s,” an adult playground, for fat lazy kids. But the commercial shows a couple of guys and their “fun” – miniature versions of themselves. They go to D&B’s to let their fun play.
Which leads me to one of the problems of being a neotenous creature, especially when all survival needs are satisfied beyond reason. That is, they’re capable of remaining “retarded” forever. I don’t mean “mentally disabled.” I mean, undeveloped. Child-men/-women rule the world, instead of man-/woman-children.
Seem like an arbitrary difference?
