3 ms·

The Aging Advantage

• jrapdx3 11y ago
  Not nearly as aged as Ms. Beskind, still I'm glad to read that getting old isn't always a barrier to creativity and contribution. I like the idea that retirement doesn't have to be permanent, one can start again, make use of skills not necessarily diminished with time. Among the people I've met over the years, most impressive have been those who discovered talents in late life not having known about it before. In her mid-sixties, one woman on a whim took a one-afternoon watercolor painting class, finding that she had a real flair for it. Within a few months was selling paintings, and became a well-known watercolorist in the region. Perhaps we tend to associate success in technological fields with younger individuals, but the article suggests otherwise, that the elderly don't necessarily lose their "edge". Research does suggest that as we age memory and thinking work differently. Perhaps not as quick to respond, but still just as capable of learning given the time to do so. Benefits of experience are hard to quantify, indeed, experiential learning is distinct from associative learning. The latter is important in school for example, but the ability to predict outcomes in complex situations is a function of experience vs. "book learning". As we continue to learn and grow in our 60's and beyond, it's a good thing some of the movers and shakers appreciate what we have to offer.