Uh, (citation needed)? As far as I'm aware, the scientific community is pretty convinced that the adult brain has a large degree of neuroplasticity [1] and can

Uh, (citation needed)? As far as I'm aware, the scientific community is pretty convinced that the adult brain has a large degree of neuroplasticity [1] and can retain a significant amount as we age [2]. It's also been shown what we refer to as "fluid intelligence" can actually be trained and optimized for [3]. I would argue that until real, systemic cognitive decline begins occurring (let's say ~65), any differences in an individual's ability to learn new things and retain facts based on age can probably be more strongly attributed to their internal biases from their pre-acquired knowledge than an inability to learn. Maybe in some part I'm arguing semantics ("either way, what appears to be a decline still occurs"), but to say that cognitive decline happens sooner when related to aptitude for maths as opposed to aptitude for biology is a little silly without a citation. Would love to read these articles if you have resources. It's probably a mistake to write off an older adult's ability to learn. I would lean to heavily favour Elon's anecdote [4], "I do kinda feel like my head is full! My context switching penalty is high and my process isolation is not what it used to be. Frankly, though, I think most people can learn a lot more than they think they can. They sell themselves short without trying." --- more knowledge means you have the ability to be more discerning which can be more computationally expensive (and take longer), but it doesn't necessarily offset ability to learn. In fact, you could probably make a convincing argument that with proper pattern recognition you can learn the right things more quickly. 1. Plasticity in the human cerebral cortex: lessons from the normal brain and from stroke. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15070490 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15070490 2. Plasticity of the human brain ‐ “We never use the same brain twice” https://www.mpg.de/38899/hm09_PlasticityHumanBrain_basetext.pdf https://www.mpg.de/38899/hm09_PlasticityHumanBrain_basetext.... 3. Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2383929/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2383929/ 4. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_ceocto_of_a_rocket_company_ama/cnfre0a https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk...