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Re:Dementia Rate Drops Sharply, as Forecast by mikeash on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @03:14PM (#6054099)
Yes, but we know this from studying it, not because it's "intuitive".
Re:Dementia Rate Drops Sharply, as Forecast by Amadou on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @06:06PM (#6055055)
Intuitive is just a synonym for "similar to previous experiences." Anyone who has regularly exercised or played a sport or even a musical instrument and then stopped knows about use it or lose it we even have a term for it, "being a little rusty."
Re:Dementia Rate Drops Sharply, as Forecast by mikeash on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @06:52PM (#6055257)
And anyone who's exerted themselves physically for more than a few minutes at a time knows that the more you do it, the more tired and weak you become (short term). If "intuition" supports both, it says nothing.
Re:Dementia Rate Drops Sharply, as Forecast by Amadou on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @07:29PM (#6055382)
I feel you are being disingenuous. We all have enough long-term memory to discern patterns beyond the short term and classify them as such.
Re:Dementia Rate Drops Sharply, as Forecast by mikeash on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @08:38PM (#6055560)
Feel what you like, I don't care.

There are plenty of examples, both in nature and in the human body, of "use it or lose it" and "use it up and it's gone".