We should do further: eliminate aging so that we don't degrade in youth or mind performance.
However, that means adults who are hundred years old have a vast advantage over you, assuming he is able to keep and integrate the experiences of the last several hundred years.
We should even better than that and create an artificial intelligence for us that can eliminate aging and that eliminate any need to do work, and also upload our minds to it see we can live until the heat death of the universe with every luxury.
That old adage that you can stave off memory loss and general degeneration of cognitive ability by keeping your mind active always seems strikingly obvious to me, and I think it's pretty much true for people at any age. And anyway, what the heck are you doing if you're not keeping your mind active anyway? Watching paint dry ;-)
Re:Thoughts on Growing Old
by bryanlarsen on Thursday February 23, 2012 @04:58AM
(#3624398)
As far as I'm aware, to stave off cognitive decay you need to keep your mind active in ways that are different from the way you usually keep it active. Studies show that sudoku prevents brain decay, but only in people who don't play sudoku or games like it.
So if you're a programmer, learning new programming skills might help your career but it probably won't help your brain. Learn a new language or a musical instrument or something else completely different.
the first sign of getting old is forgetting things. the second is repeating them. the fourth is repeating them.
How about getting out of touch with modern society, arts and music? I don't like Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj, but there's still new bands and new albums coming out that I do enjoy
I know that this is neither here nor there, but check out Marina and the Diamonds' album "The Family Jewels". I had pretty much given up on any new intelligent pop music being made in this millennium until I heard this album.
Oh yeah, and Spotify is an incredible thing for being able to easily check out what's going in the world of music.
You might enjoy this broadcast that we (the radio show I work for) did last year on aging, the feeling of a lack of purpose, and what to do about it. It's mainly geared towards those about to retire, but it can also be relevant to others.
That old adage that you can stave off memory loss and general degeneration of cognitive ability by keeping your mind active always seems strikingly obvious to me, and I think it's pretty much true for people at any age. And anyway, what the heck are you doing if you're not keeping your mind active anyway? Watching paint dry? ;-)
Decrepitude I address by running regularly and trying to curb my over-eating. It's a cliche but I really am in better shape at 33 than I was in my 20's. This is mostly because I didn't take care of myself at all until I was 30, but most people can improve their eating and exercise habits.
Another problem is your mind and/or memory fading. Well it's been shown that this can be staved off by playing games and staying mentally challenged. As a developer this isn't a problem so far, I still play games every day.
What about social isolation, and losing friends and family until you're alone? I've always been a bit of a curmudgeon, so this is one I need to watch out for. I have to make sure to maintain a healthy group of friends as I get older. So far, so good. It helps that I have a lot of younger siblings, and it's unlikely they'll all die before me.
How about getting out of touch with modern society, arts and music? I don't like Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj, but there's still new bands and new albums coming out that I do enjoy, and I stay aware of even the things I don't like and can understand why other people do. I may shake my fist and say "You kids today have no taste!" but at least I know why it is that I feel that way, and there's never been a time where I liked all new music anyway. Same goes for movies and TV.
It also goes for technology; I don't cling tightly to the tools I use today or used yesterday. I keep abreast of new technology and am ready to move to new platforms, languages, etc. when something better comes along. I'm not going to be caught with an obsolete skill-set because even for things I don't use every day at work (Ruby, Node.js), I stay at least familiar with them. And this is easier and easier to do the more disparate technologies you have under your belt.
So yeah, aging is a thing that can suck. But you can do what you can to minimize the bad parts.
And there's still more good than bad if you're doing what you want in an environment that rewards you.