>>4
Sacrificing animals to "God" was also a time honored tradition, though most would agree today that such an act is a waste of animal life.
>>7
If I'm in a position to make such a judgment at 16, then I'm most certainly in a position to make such a judgment at 21.9. I'm not sure what your point is.
However, a good point has been brought up. Why are young children incapable of rational decisions [aside from lack of knowledge and experience]? I recall reading from wikipedia that one is unable to think abstractly until later in life. Why is this? Any bio experts here know something about the biochemistry of the brain?
One of the professors (theoretical physics) here is reputed to have entered college at 12-16ish, and got his PhD when he before he was 24. Surely, such a person is more than qualified to make rational decisions when he was 12-16ish, right?