Posted by
peripheral on Friday, January 15, 2010 11:35:35 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Considerable attention is given to the subject of aging - senility, dementia,
Alzheimer’s, general forgetfulness – plus the additional focus on
Medicare Costs, Social Security and general health issues. In terms of
Social Security and Medicare Costs, few are willing to address the fact
that the monies paid into Social Security during one’s younger and
productive years were not invested or saved for payment of benefits in
one’s latter years – but were spent on other budget expenditures. The
broad point is: Are those in the aging process no longer able to be
productive and useful?
An interesting article appeared January 3rd, 2010 by Barbara Strauch
(Adult Learning - Neuroscience) entitled: “How To Train The Aging
Brain.” She speaks of reading many fine tomes, but observes: “I love
reading history, and the shelves in my living room are lined with fat,
fact-filled books…The problem is, as much as I’ve enjoyed these books,
I don’t really remember reading any of them. Certainly I know the main
points. But didn’t I, after underlining all those interesting parts,
retain anything else? It’s maddening and, sorry to say, not all that
unusual for a brain at middle age: I don’t just forget whole books, but
movies I just saw, breakfasts I just ate, and the names, oh, the names
are awful. Who are you? Brains in middle age, which, with increased
life spans, now stretches from the 40s to late 60s, also get more
easily distracted. Start boiling water for pasta, go answer the
doorbell and — whoosh — all thoughts of boiling water disappear.
Indeed, aging brains, even in the middle years, fall into what’s called
the default mode, during which the mind wanders off and begin
daydreaming. Given all this, the question arises, can an old brain
learn, and then remember what it learns? As it happens, yes. While it’s
tempting to focus on the flaws in older brains, that inducement
overlooks how capable they’ve become. Over the past several years,
scientists have looked deeper into how brains age and confirmed that
they continue to develop through and beyond middle age. Many long-held
views, including the one that 40 percent of brain cells are lost, have
been overturned. What is stuffed into your head may not have vanished
but has simply been squirreled away in the folds of your neurons…
Recently, researchers have found even more positive news. The brain, as
it traverses middle age, gets better at recognizing the central idea,
the big picture. If kept in good shape, the brain can continue to build
pathways that help its owner recognize patterns and, as a consequence,
see significance and even solutions much faster than a young person
can…Educators say that, for adults, one way to nudge neurons in the
right direction is to challenge the very assumptions they have worked
so hard to accumulate while young. With a brain already full of
well-connected pathways, adult learners should ‘jiggle their synapses a
bit’ by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own…”
Many err by not having appreciation for the older and aging person. So
many experiences and knowledge that could be shared are ignored and
avoided. The wisdom that could be of benefit is not embraced. An
illustration of this is in I Kings 12:1-11, “Rehoboam went to Shechem,
for all Israel had come…to make him king…and all…Israel came and said
to Rehoboam: Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the
hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve
you. He said to them, Go away for three days, then come again to
me…King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before
Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, How do you advise me
to answer this people? They said to him, If you will be a servant to
this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you
answer them, then they will be your servants forever. But he abandoned
the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young
men who had grown up with him and stood before him…What do you advise
that we answer this people…And the young men…said to him, Thus shall
you speak to this people who said to you, Your father made our yoke
heavy… My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. And now,
whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My
father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with
scorpions." A clear example of the avoidance of wisdom; A missed
opportunity; A lost moment to make a difference; Ignoring the Older
Generation and embracing the Folly of Youth! It still occurs – but it
doesn’t have to continue! Consider these things with me!