I agree with TheHandsomeCrab's sentiments there.
I disagree. I don't necessarily think that collecting toys is necessarily childish. I play with my toys too... maybe that's kinda childish, but not at the same level of juvenile behaviour that THC is talking about - and I don't think that the way I usually play with my toys is necessarily child-like. A lot of it depends on one's "nature of fandom."Originally Posted by FFN
Albert Einstein is well known for having said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." and it's well known that children who enjoy playing and exhibit good imagination and creative skills tend to be quite intelligent. One way we try to identify gifted and talented students is through their creativity - which is why Einstein said that it's more important than knowledge because imagination is the mother of invention... we only invent and create things that we dream of, such as Leonardo Da Vinci's dreams of aircrafts some 500 years before the Wright brothers took their maiden flight. And just because you grow older, doesn't mean that you suddenly have to stop being creative and imaginative... I think most of us don't do that sort of thing as much as we used to as kids primarily because we just don't have the time (not necessarily because we don't want to). Just yesterday evening I was playing with my Classics/Universe figures in a short campaign (I usually only have time to run short stories - unlike my younger days when I would run epic sagas for days, weeks or even months). And most of us are avid fans of TF fiction - be it cartoons, comics, movies, fan fics, fan essays etc.
The Merriem-Webster Dictionary defines "childish" as a "lack of poise" and "lacking complexity." To me, TFwiki fits that definition, but I wouldn't necessarily say that Transfandom necessarily fits that description. It might for some fans, but not for all.
Beginning from this term we have commenced a new syllabus in NSW for HSC 3 Unit Japanese Extension called "Animé Technique and Themes in Spirited Away" using Miyazaki Hayao's animé movie "Spirited Away" as the primary text; but in teaching this course I have already made several references to Transformers (as well as other animé, manga and sci-fi/fantasy titles) when breaking down and analysing the issues that students are currently studying for this course.
So I definitely don't agree with the notion that collecting toys and being a fan of animation and comic books necessarily makes one childish.