Paternal Pattern Expiration Date

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Paternal Pattern Expiration Date or PPED is technically the date at which a son has lived to be older than the last memory of his father.

This applies specifically to men for whom their father was generally a positive influence, and worthy of patterning after, but who died at an early age. The concept asserts that if a man's father was a strong, responsible role model for manhood, he becomes the measure and definition of what it is to be a man, and the son will use that guide to pattern his own social identity.

The PPED, then, is that date at which the information in that pattern has expired. Perhaps at 25 years, he might have some memory of his father when he was 25 and aspire to be that sort of man. Then again at 30, and 35, he will usually have a good recollection of his father was like at those ages. But should he live to be older than his own father, that running stream of information will eventually expire.

Example

At age 20, a son is born. The son grows to know his father, and by observing his father makes social constructs in his mind about what it is to be a man. The father dies unexpectedly at age 45, when the son is 25.

Assuming the son's memories of his father span back at least age seven, he has eighteen years of paternal patterning available. At age 30, he will remember his father at age 30, likewise at 35 and 40. But once he reaches age 46, that information has run out.

If in fact he has patterned his own social identity after his father's, any development after this point is done without a paternal reference.

Variations

  • For women, a similar concept of Maternal Pattern Expiration Date may apply
  • PPED may not exclusively apply to men whose fathers died at very early ages, but the concept asserts that the earlier the loss, the more significant the impact because the available pattern expires sooner in the man's life.
  • PPED may not exclusively apply to the death of a father, but to other permanent loss such as abandonment or estrangement. However, the effect may be adversely affected by these alternate methods of loss as they may cast a negative light on the pattern, thus reducing its significance.

Debate

It could be argued that the loss of a father is just as significant for a daughter as it is a son. While acknowledging that each case is unique, generally women pattern their identity after their mother while men pattern after their father.

Notes

  • The concept of PPED was wholly devised by Jon Reddick based on his own observations and experiences, and not based on any scientific or empirical evidence. Incidentally, his own PPED is December 9, 2019.