Really helpful guide to the mindset of 18-year-olds

I'm 50. So as hard as I might try, I have no clue what people under 40 think about the world. I remember when Johnson was president. I watched the moon landing. I lived through Vietnam and Watergate.

A heck of a lot of people didn't do any of those things, because they weren't alive yet. Just like I have no clue about living through WW II or the Eisenhower years. Wasn't born yet.

To get a kick in the head about how people entering adulthood see the world, check out the Beloit College Mindset list. It's a compilation by some brainiacs at Beloit College about the sensibilities of the incoming freshman class. The list for the Class of 2012 is their most current (last year's class). When they release this year's list, I'll post an update.

Here are some of their observations about people in the U.S. who are now 19 years old and if they are in college, starting their sophomore years:

• GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.


• Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.


• Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.


• Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.


• WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.


• Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.


• The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.


• Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”


• Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.

Their lists go back to the class of 2002 -- people who would be in their late 20s now.

Why should you care? Because people you may be pitching or working with may very well be in this cohort, and if you want to work with them successfully, it helps to have a cultural frame of reference.