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One of the most productive engineers I knew (who I’m guessing will read this) was in his 60s when I met him. He’s since “retired” and helped a company obtain a
by lettergram 6y ago
One of the most productive engineers I knew (who I’m guessing will read this) was in his 60s when I met him. He’s since “retired” and helped a company obtain a $1B valuation.
Similarly, my 85 year old grandfather still doesn’t own a wheelbarrow and will move stone, dirt, etc every summer. His motto is “keep moving”, I don’t think there’s really anything else to it. Yes you will slow down, but stay engaged and motivated and frankly you’ll outperform anyone because you’ll also have experience.
- MisterBastahrd 6y agoMine wasn't that extreme, but my grandfather was laid low by mesothelioma less than a month after his last day tending his gardens in his mid 80s, and his father in law was doing it until the night before he died, also his mid 80s. My other grandfather took my grandmother out to eat and dance every weekend. He died of spinal cancer in his mid 80s, but she's still around at 104.
- velp 6y agoSimilar story here, my grandfather played Chamber music with his friends (he played cello) twice a week well into his 90s. He barely lasted weeks after he became too frail to play music.
- devoutsalsa 6y agoSounds like a good way to go. Having a lifespan that ends soon after a steep decline in healthspan is what I'm shooting for.
- mortenjorck 6y agoUltimately, the data for things like this boils down to anecdotes over a wide distribution. Some people flourish with age; some don't. Each individual's situation arises from a confluence of factors, some within their control (lifestyle, attitude, attention to professional development) and some outside their control (industry changes, ageism, health). To contribute an anecdote from my own experience: I once worked at a consultancy with a large number of recent grads and one engineer who must have been in his 60s. Through a combination of hard-won expertise and a soft-spoken humility and sense of humor, he had the quiet admiration of all the young people in the office, to the point of coworkers privately raving to me about how great he was to work with.
- paxys 6y agoGenetics is also a major factor that a lot of people ignore. I'm relatively healthy right now and do my best to live an active lifestyle, but am also preparing for a physical and mental decline by 60-65 since that is when my entire extended family going back generations has always started to show their age.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 6y agoIt's worked for the japanese
- john_moscow 6y ago>One of the most productive engineers I knew (who I’m guessing will read this) was in his 60s when I met him. When I visited a hospital recently, the healthiest-looking person in the 106 years old. I know it because the nurse was super excited talking to her and asking if there is any special secret to staying healthy that long. Statistically, though, the health does degrade with age. Outliers and anecdata are good for storytelling and inspiration, but the type of data you want to use for decision making is relative probabilities on a statistically significant set.
- lupire 6y agoThe main thing that >100 yr old people tend to have in common is being born on places with poor record keeping of child births.
- cortesoft 6y agoI mean, the United States President is 78... he still seems pretty relevant.
- lupire 6y agoAnd he was elected to be a placeholder, winning on the strength of his popularity from 13+ years ago.
- warble 6y ago"keep moving" or something similar is the best advice.. growing to my 50s myself, and watching parents and grandparents, this is by far the biggest variable you can control. Keep learning, keep moving your body. When you're 15 this is easy, you don't really have a choice. When you're 40+ it starts to become more of a deliberate act.