Amanda Hess at  XXFactor asks an interesting question about youth and creativity:. Why is it that youth seems to be a fueling factor to inspire the creativity of screenwriters and directors, but we rarely take the creations of those who are actually young seriously?

Hess takes issue with the criticism Lena Dunham has received for leveraging her upbringing and education into a high-profile career FAST, and making herself a name as a writer and director while she is SO YOUNG. Her critics seem to object to her lending a voice to the twenty-something generation while still being twenty-something. Does that experience (or lack thereof?) make her voice less credible or more so?

What do you think? How does age, experience, and having seen many, many models before you figure in being able to create something new? How many knitting patterns do you have to knit through before you can design your own? How many books to read before you can start writing? How many visits to the museum before you should pick up a pencil?