Yaaaas! When I was a teenager in a conservative Christian church, I ran circles around my ignorant youth pastor, because I was much much much much smarter than he was.

I might have only been 15 and 16, but I was already more well read, and I already had enough of an independent spirit to question teachings and believe nothing just because an authority figure asserted it. I knew how to dig for real facts and evidence, how to evaluate them, and how to draw reasonable conclusions. I wasn't a professional intelligence analyst yet, but the way my mind worked and the way I enjoyed thinking would soon put me on the path to becoming one.

Meanwhile, most of the adults in my life, like my youth pastor, remained stupid and intentionally ignorant. They simply sat in pews and soaked up ridiculous sermons, accepting everything the pastor or guest speaker said.

Some of my fellow teenagers in youth group grew up to be that stupid too, but by no means all of them. Many of my friends learned to think and to reject faith and other superstition. Something about the teenage intellect and drive to discover helped them understand that their adults were pushing ignorance and stupidity on them.

I think that's something unique and special about teenagers, that for a short while they're particularly able to learn and discern, to reject rote teaching.

This is to be celebrated!

Of course it won't be celebrated by people (especially religious people) who actually value ignorance, but there you have it.