It's not like the fifty states north of Lake Okeechobee.
Where I grew up, most people have always been over 65.
And from someplace else to begin with.
You learn a lot more from diverse people who have gone through diverse decades in diverse places than you do from a social monoculture of similar age group to yourself.
Most retirees didn't bring their "children" with them, because their next generation was still up north with a career and family working toward retirement themselves.
So many younger northern people would visit (when under 65), but far fewer would eventually come to stay.
It's not so easy to sustainably remain in a relatively pure-consumer environment where you are supposed to have enough money to last the rest of your life before you make a move there.
However, there was still a significant contingent of formerly low-wage northern workers who did manage to build enough resources over their wage-earning life to be able to sensibly choose our locale when they reached 65.
At the other end of the spectrum, many of the other kids our own age were those whose parents had retired early, sometimes quite well off, or even born rich without much need for a career of any length. "Retired at 40" was much less common than 65, but still more significant than in most other places.
An interesting observation; so many people from both ends of the spectrum surprisingly ended up making most of their money after 65 than they did beforehand.
Even among those without more money than ever, there was still some degree of consensus that "life begins at 65".
And the article also conveys the same idea. The title is a misnomer (if some kind).
I think you just proved OP's point. Seems like you have nothing going for you but work.
> My Dad is 96 and does 3D animation, makes movies and documentaries
This is a problem I have with modern american society. I wonder whether it would be better to give those resources to younger and more capable people who can actually make good movies and documentaries.
> and is still a member of the national academy of science.
People are members of NAS for life.
> Life ends either when one gives up learning and doing new things, or when our bodies finally wear out :-)
That's not what the guy was talking about...
But you've highlighted a lot of problems we have in our society. Too much resources and wealth have been "stolen" by the older generations like you and your father. And the younger generation are suffering from lack of opportunity and resources. I don't think this is very healthy for society over the long term. But I guess only time will tell.
I am in my mid-60s, manage a machine learning team at a fine company, busy writing a new book, and getting close to being an investor in a new company.
My Dad is 96 and does 3D animation, makes movies and documentaries, and is still a member of the national academy of science.
Life ends either when one gives up learning and doing new things, or when our bodies finally wear out :-)