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> my mind might not be 100% as quick as it was when i was 20 care to elaborate? I'm 34 and I keep hearing that my mind is supposed to slow down but it hasn't y

> my mind might not be 100% as quick as it was when i was 20 care to elaborate? I'm 34 and I keep hearing that my mind is supposed to slow down but it hasn't yet. I drink 2 cups of coffee a day, don't smoke cigs, am not overweight, try to go for a walk for 30 minutes minimum each day, go to sleep by 9ish and am up by 3 or 4am. I also watch very little TV, read regularly and push myself to learn new stuff on a near constant basis (python > node > c# > cg within the space of the last 4 years, along with pixel art, a bit of 3d art, loads of 3d programming + 2d game programming - all in addition to being a web dev contractor). The change I've seen in my brain as I've gotten older is that I seem to be learning at an accelerated rate. However there are days when my depression or stress gets the best of me and I have to just take half a day or so to "detox" (binge watch netflix, play video games etc). I wonder if some of the slow down people feel is artificially induced, or even misperceived (it takes me longer to reply to questions, but that's because I'm considering more answers or sifting through more knowledge that I have). edit: Alzheimers / other brain related issues are absolutely terrifying to me so I'm interested in understanding what people mean by slowing down specifically... also there's a small part of me that worries I've slowed down and just haven't noticed it yet.

pmelendez 11y ago
>care to elaborate? I'm 34 and I keep hearing that my mind is supposed to slow down but it hasn't yet. Well not everyone is the same, here an excellent article that touches the topic: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-2 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-2
GFischer 11y ago
I'm 34 as well, and I'm amazed at some of the things my 20 year old self was able to solve (mostly math and physics related stuff). There's a belief (apparently not yet backed by research) that math skills degrade after 35, as this article discusses and tries to disprove: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~rmclachl/overthehill.html http://www.massey.ac.nz/~rmclachl/overthehill.html However, I don't think it's slowing me down, I'm still capable of learning and producing, and I've learned lots of stuff to "work smarter". I do believe I'm doing myself a disservice by not keeping in shape, and that might be part of my perception of having less energy (but not less enthusiasm).
- robotkilla 11y ago
  Very interesting and also terrifying - i'm trying to shift into the indie game space so hearing that my math may get worse than it already is terrifies me. I have a really hard time believing that comprehension of math would decrease with age though. It seems to me that instead people typically stop using it after a certain age and thus their skills deteriorate.
  - sabarjp 11y ago
    The brain is fully developed by age 25 and starts to lose mass from then until death (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283594 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283594). Brains of 90 year olds can be just 60% the size of a young adult. Neurons do not repair well and they (or rather, stem cells) aren't programmed to divide after the skull runs out of room. I would not worry, though. The brain is very flexible. If you keep your mathematics sharp, you will lose less useful things like old memories instead of skills. Many professionals work in difficult jobs (say surgery) well into their 70s by keeping their skills in use.
    - robotkilla 11y ago
      i hate being a human.
    - krapp 11y ago
      Well. Now i'm imagining my brain slowly dissolving like the head on an old beer. That's fun.
    - robotkilla 11y ago
      wait a minute... my math might be a bit rusty, but 28 samples is rather low isn't it? I'm a bit less worried now. edit: oops 28, 59 and 6 samples... maybe I really am becoming an idiot. still not much data though.
    - CuriouslyC 11y ago
      Exercise (among other things) has been linked to the growth of new neurons.
modoc 11y ago
For reference I drink 1-2 cups of tea most days, sometimes none. Have never smoked, drank, or done drugs. For me it's a couple areas I notice: I have a more difficult time remembering names, specific words, etc... I used to be able to do relatively difficult math problems in my head without actually thinking about it. Now I'm likely to use my phone to calculate three digit+ sums. I find it harder to get "in the zone".
- th0waway 11y ago
  I've started coming to the conclusion that as you stuff more stuff into your brain, the longer it takes to get to any bit of information that isn't in continual use. Larger index, non-linear search time.
- sharmi 11y ago
  Maybe it's more to lack of exercising those specific skills? My language and math skills were definitely better during college but then i don't use them as much as I used too? This is something I would genuinely like to get an answer for

pmelendez 11y ago

>care to elaborate? I'm 34 and I keep hearing that my mind is supposed to slow down but it hasn't yet. Well not everyone is the same, here an excellent article that touches the topic: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-2 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/late-bloomers-2

GFischer 11y ago

I'm 34 as well, and I'm amazed at some of the things my 20 year old self was able to solve (mostly math and physics related stuff). There's a belief (apparently not yet backed by research) that math skills degrade after 35, as this article discusses and tries to disprove: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~rmclachl/overthehill.html http://www.massey.ac.nz/~rmclachl/overthehill.html However, I don't think it's slowing me down, I'm still capable of learning and producing, and I've learned lots of stuff to "work smarter". I do believe I'm doing myself a disservice by not keeping in shape, and that might be part of my perception of having less energy (but not less enthusiasm).

robotkilla 11y ago
Very interesting and also terrifying - i'm trying to shift into the indie game space so hearing that my math may get worse than it already is terrifies me. I have a really hard time believing that comprehension of math would decrease with age though. It seems to me that instead people typically stop using it after a certain age and thus their skills deteriorate.
- sabarjp 11y ago
  The brain is fully developed by age 25 and starts to lose mass from then until death (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283594 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283594). Brains of 90 year olds can be just 60% the size of a young adult. Neurons do not repair well and they (or rather, stem cells) aren't programmed to divide after the skull runs out of room. I would not worry, though. The brain is very flexible. If you keep your mathematics sharp, you will lose less useful things like old memories instead of skills. Many professionals work in difficult jobs (say surgery) well into their 70s by keeping their skills in use.
  - robotkilla 11y ago
    i hate being a human.
  - krapp 11y ago
    Well. Now i'm imagining my brain slowly dissolving like the head on an old beer. That's fun.
  - robotkilla 11y ago
    wait a minute... my math might be a bit rusty, but 28 samples is rather low isn't it? I'm a bit less worried now. edit: oops 28, 59 and 6 samples... maybe I really am becoming an idiot. still not much data though.
  - CuriouslyC 11y ago
    Exercise (among other things) has been linked to the growth of new neurons.

modoc 11y ago

For reference I drink 1-2 cups of tea most days, sometimes none. Have never smoked, drank, or done drugs. For me it's a couple areas I notice: I have a more difficult time remembering names, specific words, etc... I used to be able to do relatively difficult math problems in my head without actually thinking about it. Now I'm likely to use my phone to calculate three digit+ sums. I find it harder to get "in the zone".

th0waway 11y ago
I've started coming to the conclusion that as you stuff more stuff into your brain, the longer it takes to get to any bit of information that isn't in continual use. Larger index, non-linear search time.
sharmi 11y ago
Maybe it's more to lack of exercising those specific skills? My language and math skills were definitely better during college but then i don't use them as much as I used too? This is something I would genuinely like to get an answer for