One of the interesting things that stood out to me from Lord of the Rings was the fact that hobbits aren't really...

One of the interesting things that stood out to me from Lord of the Rings was the fact that hobbits aren't really considered adults until 33. Would this, in a way, be better for our society as well? It does not put as much pressure on still developing minds and will allow rational choices to be made about the future as opposed to snap decisions which lead back to the pressure.

Hobbits and humans have pretty much the same lifespan, so I wonder if this could work as something more beneficial than what we have now?

But then who will die in the wars? Physical peak for males is 25 y/o.

Let the old cunts that start them do it.

What would these fully-grown children do? Work? Schooling? Children are very expensive, so to expect children to be children for an additional 15 years would basically prohibit all but the wealthiest people from undertaking it in a capitalist system.

If they worked, would they have all the rights of a worker? What exactly are the privileges that would be restricted from them? Would they be paid less for doing the same work (like extended internships)? Would they be able to consent to things like marriage/having their own children/relocation?

Hobbits were not considered adults until 33 cause they aged slower and live longer, it would make no sense in human society.

I don't think they live much longer than hunans. Bilbo was considered remarkably old at 111

Yes, and he was living in a society without modern medicine. He also makes it to be 131, which no human has ever come close to. He's proud of that 131, because the "Old Took" made it to 130, and that was without any magic rings or anything at all.

Sam is 102 when he sails to Valinor (no idea when he dies), his wife Rose makes it to 98, Merry is at least 103 when he dies, and Pippin makes it into his 90s. AFAIK, those 6 are the only ones we get age info, barring Frodo who sails to Valinor which can have weird effects relatively young. That is well above average human lifespan.

Ha.
American liberals have always been wanting to raise the age that children are considered adults.
So that they can then decide what's good for them Op.

>Would this, in a way, be better for our society as well?

Unironically yes. Good luck passing that law, tho: People aren't going to vote away their franchise.

>Hobbits and humans have pretty much the same lifespan,
No they don't. For a hobbit it's pretty much a norm to live over 100 years while humans (excluding Númenoreans) can be happy if they see their 80th birthday.

The wars of the future will be thoguht through drones/nukes or not at all

That's how it works in Southern Europe

Yeah I think so too, this exactly. It would be better, but will never happen.

Why is this a thread?

...

A better question is why is it one of the best threads on Veeky Forums at the moment?

Bilbo made it so long because of the ring.

That is far from clear. To be sure, his lack of visible aging from 50 to 111 is from the Ring's effects, but he VERY rapidly goes into senescence when he gives it up, far more so than would be reasonable for someone going from 50 (where his aging was arrested) to 70.

It gave Gollum a ridiculously long life, and since he was a Stoor, I think it's pretty safe to assume there was some weird magics helping Bilbo's Old Took related genes along. :)

You do have a point there. Still, there's too much narrative focus on Bilbo's natural longevity and how he comes from a long-lived line, and his own personal goal of outliving the Old Took, which would be undercut if it was just an effect of the Ring. Plus, his effects after giving it up aren't nearly the same as Gollum's, who doesn't have that much of an effect when he loses his precious.

True, but Gollum had it much, much, much longer. I don't think the ring is the only reason for Bilbo's longevity, but narratively it makes sense that it would be a component since there are a lot of parallels between Bilbo and Gollum's relationship to the ring. Notice that Gollum is always a slave to the ring and it holds him in its power (which is why he still has such a long life), but Bilbo willingly gave up the ring and it was only then that he stared really aging. So I'd say it sustained him until he gave it up, then its effect (while still there) faded slowly.

>So I'd say it sustained him until he gave it up, then its effect (while still there) faded slowly.

And taking your side for a minute, it clear it does have some lasting effect. The very first thing out of Bilbo's mouth when Frodo and company get back to Rivendell is to ask what happened to HIS ring, and when Frodo says he lost it, he says it's a shame, he very much would have liked to see it again, indicating it still did have some (probably small, he remembers right away) hold on him, and that's after the Ring itself is destroyed.

The ring was responsible for extending Bilbo's life. He says "I feel stretched thin" because all races have a certain lifespan they were meant to reach, and to unnaturally extend that life is a big strain. One reason Gollum was so screwed up.

Still, having another get to 130 without magic shows they do live on average longer than comparable humans of a medieval time. Humans in middle-ages Europe could get to 60, 70, maybe 80 if they survived adulthood.

Could you explain this?

Could you also explain this about Southern Europe? I wasn't aware it was like this.

t. American

27/28*

Yep, it should be at minimum 25 years old since thats when we finish cognitive development. Really though, it should be at 30 since by that point people have actually lived at least a few years developed, have almost certainly found a long term job, and have finished education (unless going for psychiatry or something.)
18 is utterly ridiculous, too bad it would take a revolution to enact it due to the fact that once a genie is out of the bottle it's damned near impossible to put it back until it has run it's course (the destruction of society in this case).