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I didn't mean to be persnickety. I was just trying to understand. Tim Send a noteboard - 15/03/2010 08:39:20 PM
And I'm not saying the system I live in is perfect either...

By way of comparison, the Scottish system is very practical but makes no logical sense at all. The formal age of majority is 18, but at 16 you have legal capacity to "enter into any transaction" with stated exceptions like buying alcohol. All the other age limits which are set at 18 are specifically enacted in law, rather than being assumed. So the official age of majority actually has no legal significance, while a different age has lots of significance. Why they didn't just make 16 the age of legal majority I have no idea.

However, I do like our approach to medical consent. Here, specific ages in years are irrelevant – under-16s can consent to medical treatment when the doctor/nurse/dentist/whatever thinks you're old enough to understand what's going on. This will obviously depend on the nature of the treatment as well as on the child – a five-year-old can probably consent on his own behalf to having a grazed knee patched up, but not to chemotherapy.
Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt.

—Nous disons en allemand : le guerre, le mort, le lune, alors que 'soleil' et 'amour' sont du sexe féminin : la soleil, la amour. La vie est neutre.

—La vie ? Neutre ? C'est très joli, et surtout très logique.
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New Orleans hotelier offers to host prom cancelled in Mississippi - 14/03/2010 01:29:40 AM 535 Views
*NM* - 14/03/2010 01:52:22 AM 59 Views
That's awesome of that guy. *NM* - 14/03/2010 01:56:51 AM 61 Views
Sort of seems opportunistic really - 14/03/2010 02:00:54 AM 214 Views
even if it was, it's still all sorts of heartwarming - 14/03/2010 02:45:12 AM 189 Views
Yeah, I suppose so - 14/03/2010 02:52:55 AM 186 Views
Given the nature of the people involved, I highly doubt they're willing to go to NOLA. - 14/03/2010 03:31:33 AM 207 Views
Re: Given the nature of the people involved, I highly doubt they're willing to go to NOLA. - 14/03/2010 04:13:18 AM 196 Views
i couldn't tell *NM* - 14/03/2010 04:22:38 AM 59 Views
It's lovely that Ben enabled the strike-through tag here *NM* - 14/03/2010 11:29:35 AM 59 Views
Yes, I just wish we could link - 14/03/2010 12:32:51 PM 193 Views
Aren't high-school graduands generally 18? - 14/03/2010 10:34:20 AM 212 Views
Prom is in early April - so statistically, only about 25% of students will have turned 18... - 14/03/2010 03:40:26 PM 173 Views
That's probably off by a good deal, closer to 50% - 14/03/2010 04:48:07 PM 194 Views
Ah, yes, that would make a difference. - 14/03/2010 04:56:19 PM 189 Views
School years by birth year? That's far too logical and orderly for an English-speaking country! - 14/03/2010 11:10:27 PM 180 Views
It's pretty arbitrary, but you have to consider the ramifications at the college level - 15/03/2010 12:05:28 AM 185 Views
What are the "noticeable difficulties" with having 17-year-olds on campus? - 15/03/2010 08:19:24 AM 174 Views
Mostly, I can only think of problems relating to sex. - 15/03/2010 12:38:06 PM 158 Views
What on earth have students' sex lives got to do with the college? - 15/03/2010 12:52:03 PM 173 Views
I was just suggesting it as a possible reason, there's no need to get persnickity. - 15/03/2010 05:45:43 PM 158 Views
I didn't mean to be persnickety. I was just trying to understand. - 15/03/2010 08:39:20 PM 161 Views
Well, they aren't legal adults... - 15/03/2010 01:05:33 PM 167 Views
Because it means you can't pass your test until long after you've started your "independent" life. - 15/03/2010 08:44:33 PM 197 Views
Depends on the country, I would imagine. - 15/03/2010 08:53:40 PM 163 Views
All countries I'm aware of have "driving age" mean the age you can take the test - 15/03/2010 10:24:16 PM 175 Views
Huh, maybe I was wrongly assuming everywhere was like here. - 15/03/2010 10:33:50 PM 212 Views
in the states - 15/03/2010 10:44:11 PM 166 Views
Yeah, I think a lot of states do the same. - 15/03/2010 11:38:04 PM 147 Views
there are a LOT more automatics over here. - 16/03/2010 01:22:26 AM 150 Views
Re: Huh, maybe I was wrongly assuming everywhere was like here. - 15/03/2010 10:51:52 PM 159 Views
Here they recently changed the system too, so I'm not sure on the details, but... - 15/03/2010 10:55:13 PM 152 Views
That's another sensible thing. - 16/03/2010 08:47:09 AM 147 Views
All of that goes out the window with preschool, though. - 15/03/2010 02:16:42 AM 167 Views
Same - 2.5, actually. *NM* - 15/03/2010 12:31:42 PM 57 Views
It is birth year in the largest school district in the US - NYC. - 15/03/2010 07:49:43 PM 163 Views
Nice promotion stunt. - 14/03/2010 03:44:20 PM 193 Views
i'd still be interested to know how much of it is her - 14/03/2010 06:46:43 PM 173 Views
Good. - 15/03/2010 10:55:53 AM 169 Views

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