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I've had different experiences with my 70+ year old friends. That experience is, of course, self selected for folks who have stuff that they will do with young

I've had different experiences with my 70+ year old friends. That experience is, of course, self selected for folks who have stuff that they will do with younger folks like me... mostly playing music. But I believe that folks that age are capable of a whole damn lot, assuming that they didn't do a shit-ton of coke or something in their 30s. My dad is pretty far into Parkinsons, and I think that the disease has more to do with why he doesn't do stuff than anything. It's not that he's not "capable" of stuff... it's that he doesn't want to. That is a fine distinction, I know, and I can see how folks don't think it is even a real distinction. My mom describes the issue with Parkinsons as "I've fallen and I don't want to get up". I wouldn't bother typing that all out, except that I feel like there is a point worth mentioning to people who don't have a lot of older friends: there's nothing necessary about stopping doing a lot of what we do as we get older. Eventually, we all get pain and/or a loss of senses, but it's not (I believe) as completely show-stopping. We don't have to give up on living. I went rock climbing with a 68-year-old last month, and though the climb wasn't super hard, it was certainly a run for my money... it was 5.6R grade IV, and she led the 45M run out pitch, and the 6km of hiking on the return didn't seem to phase her. Her feeling was that a lot of folks just stop trying around age 60. Their goals become "let's take the RV to AK some time this year" instead of "I'm going to write the best novel that I have written this year" (that was one of her goals). She is exceptional, I think. Still, my point is: if you can golf, you can do a lot more than do FB when you're not golfing. And I hope there are folks who remind me of that as I approach those ages.

exolymph 7y ago
> That experience is, of course, self selected for folks who have stuff that they will do with younger folks like me... mostly playing music. But I believe that folks that age are capable of a whole damn lot, assuming that they didn't do a shit-ton of coke or something in their 30s. I don't understand why you disregard selection bias as insignificant. That factor deserves more than an offhand, brushed-off aside. The reality is, the old people who you regularly interact with are XYZ. We can't conclude anything about old people in general based on your personal experiences.
- ridgeguy 7y ago
  For me, his data that the old people he interacts with are XYZ are both comforting and a motivational existence proof.
  - gambiting 7y ago
    Sure, but it really does depend on who you interact with. My aunt runs a care home, and I had this discussion with her once - she said something like "oh I dread getting old, you can't do anything anymore, your memory goes, you can't go to the toilet by yourself, you can't dress yourself, moving anywhere can kill you....being old is horrible!", to which I replied that you know, you probably feel that way because 100% of old people you interact with on the daily basis are like this. Those who are well just don't go into care homes when they are old, so you never see them, but they are definitely out there.
- scarecrowbob 7y ago
  "The reality is, the old people who you regularly interact with are XYZ. We can't conclude anything about old people in general based on your personal experiences. " True. Hence why I state that there is a bias to begin with. The point of my comment is that other people are possibly engaged the same process but without realizing their bias, and thereby making an unwarranted conclusion about all older folks in general.
- traderjane 7y ago
  > As my grandmother's Parkinson's progressed, she had to give up knitting. > My point is that the elderly aren't necessarily hypocrites. They have a very different lifestyle than you do. The challenges they face are different, what they're capable of is different. IMO the thread continued at the level of intensity from where it started.
sneeze-slayer 7y ago
Wow, she sounds pretty cool. I can only hope that I am that cool when I reach that age.

exolymph 7y ago

> That experience is, of course, self selected for folks who have stuff that they will do with younger folks like me... mostly playing music. But I believe that folks that age are capable of a whole damn lot, assuming that they didn't do a shit-ton of coke or something in their 30s. I don't understand why you disregard selection bias as insignificant. That factor deserves more than an offhand, brushed-off aside. The reality is, the old people who you regularly interact with are XYZ. We can't conclude anything about old people in general based on your personal experiences.

ridgeguy 7y ago
For me, his data that the old people he interacts with are XYZ are both comforting and a motivational existence proof.
- gambiting 7y ago
  Sure, but it really does depend on who you interact with. My aunt runs a care home, and I had this discussion with her once - she said something like "oh I dread getting old, you can't do anything anymore, your memory goes, you can't go to the toilet by yourself, you can't dress yourself, moving anywhere can kill you....being old is horrible!", to which I replied that you know, you probably feel that way because 100% of old people you interact with on the daily basis are like this. Those who are well just don't go into care homes when they are old, so you never see them, but they are definitely out there.
scarecrowbob 7y ago
"The reality is, the old people who you regularly interact with are XYZ. We can't conclude anything about old people in general based on your personal experiences. " True. Hence why I state that there is a bias to begin with. The point of my comment is that other people are possibly engaged the same process but without realizing their bias, and thereby making an unwarranted conclusion about all older folks in general.
traderjane 7y ago
> As my grandmother's Parkinson's progressed, she had to give up knitting. > My point is that the elderly aren't necessarily hypocrites. They have a very different lifestyle than you do. The challenges they face are different, what they're capable of is different. IMO the thread continued at the level of intensity from where it started.

sneeze-slayer 7y ago

Wow, she sounds pretty cool. I can only hope that I am that cool when I reach that age.