12 ms·

But probably memory as well. If I start specializing elsewhere I'll forget the intricate details of the thing I'm already specialized in.

• pen2l 7y ago
  Don't think it works like that. Rather, it's that you have only so much time to dedicate to things... if you're focusing very much on one, then you're not spending time with the other -- and overtime, you'll lose that other thing. If you can manage to spend a good amount of time on two things (let's say, learning a new instrument and learning a language) everyday, consistently, then you will get both.
  • colordrops 7y ago
    It does work like that. As you get older your ability to retain information wanes.
    • Apocryphon 7y ago
      That could be physical degradation from age, not necessarily the "running out of disk space".
      • colordrops 7y ago
        Why does the cause matter?
        • Apocryphon 7y ago
          Because if it's simply because of physical degradation, that means someone can keep on learning and not worry about running out of memory.
          • colordrops 7y ago
            If your memory doesn't work, what does it matter how much you have? You can create ungrounded abstractions all you you want, but as an older person who has commiserated with other older people, the common conception that it's harder to learn and retain things in older age is a real thing
            • Apocryphon 7y ago
              Sure, but what you're describing is the difficulty of learning as age sets in. That's very different from the original assertion- "If I start specializing elsewhere I'll forget the intricate details of the thing I'm already specialized in." - unless that person was describing themselves as older.
              • colordrops 7y ago
                If you wish to exclude more than half the population from your statement be explicit about it.
                • Apocryphon 7y ago
                  Perhaps fixing degradation will prove to be a less difficult task than increasing memory, as the growth of new neurons is still a very newly-studied phenomenon compared to treatment into neurodegenerative processes, and soon medical science will benefit the learning of all demographics.
• opaque 7y ago
  Every time I learn something new, a little of the old gets pushed out of my brain. Remember that time I took that wine making course and forgot how to drive? - Homer Simpson