In February, a pop-up science column, Annals of Inquiry, is appearing in place of Kyle Chayka’s column, Infinite Scroll. Chayka will return in March.
After my wedding, this past October, people started asking me: Do you feel different? Does life feel different? I hadn’t considered marriage the start of a new life stage, so I wasn’t sure how to respond. My husband and I had been dating seriously si...
**STEELMAN**: The article thoughtfully challenges the rigidity of traditional life stages, arguing that modern lives—marked by delayed milestones, diverse paths, and psychological growth—defy neat categorization. It credits psychologists like Arnett and Mehta for adapting frameworks to reflect contemporary realities, such as the deliberation over childbearing or the prioritization of emotional maturity over external achievements. The comparison to historical periodization is particularly strong,...