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My brother and I are both hacking code for software based start-ups and enjoying every minute of it. We are both over 50. Why would you want to stop doing new a

by bdfh42 19y ago

My brother and I are both hacking code for software based start-ups and enjoying every minute of it. We are both over 50. Why would you want to stop doing new and exacting stuff at a particular age?

marvin 19y ago
Because when you become a certain age, you're supposed to stop having fun, learning new things, socializing and generally having an interesting life. Then you become senile and die. Oh, and you're supposed to alienate any improvements in the human condition as well, such as cars, rap music, the waltz or computers. I see this all the time, it's a real disgrace for the human race. I have a hard time believing that it really has to be like this..but everyone I know over 50 assures me it is true. There are obviously 'some' happy, older people out there, so I do feel that I have a little bit of evidence supporting my belief that old age doesn't necessarily mean a depressing life. Perhaps being a wage slave their entire life and then suddenly having all the free time they want does something to people. It is definitely worth researching, this entire debacle has an aura of bold statements about life without grounding in fact.
- mechanical_fish 19y ago
  Actually, I once heard a great Stanford podcast in which a gerontologist talked about how the mind changes as you age, and one of her points is that the elderly tend to be fairly happy with their lives. It's worth remembering that, while you may look at a 70-year-old and think "I could never live like that", that's largely because your mind is not seventy years old yet. The good -- and scarcely surprising -- news is that old people seem to be fairly happy doing the things old people do. I wish I could provide you with a link to that lecture. Heck, I wish I could find it again myself -- maybe this summary would be less vague, then. But Stanford's "iTunes U" has got to be one of the worst-designed pieces of information technology I've ever seen: you can't Google the damned thing, and once you do find something I have no idea how to link to it. You can Google up plenty of flames: see here: http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/archives/022052.php http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/archives/022052.php
- adrianwaj 19y ago
  "The young are beset by urges and desires; they love things that give them pleasure. People in their thirties and forties pursue security by amassing power and control, and this is what inspires love in them. Those yet older, having tasted of the evanescence of life, find it easier to love goodness for its own sake." http://www.innernet.org.il/printArticle.php?id=562 http://www.innernet.org.il/printArticle.php?id=562

by bdfh42 19y ago

My brother and I are both hacking code for software based start-ups and enjoying every minute of it. We are both over 50. Why would you want to stop doing new and exacting stuff at a particular age?

marvin 19y ago

Because when you become a certain age, you're supposed to stop having fun, learning new things, socializing and generally having an interesting life. Then you become senile and die. Oh, and you're supposed to alienate any improvements in the human condition as well, such as cars, rap music, the waltz or computers. I see this all the time, it's a real disgrace for the human race. I have a hard time believing that it really has to be like this..but everyone I know over 50 assures me it is true. There are obviously 'some' happy, older people out there, so I do feel that I have a little bit of evidence supporting my belief that old age doesn't necessarily mean a depressing life. Perhaps being a wage slave their entire life and then suddenly having all the free time they want does something to people. It is definitely worth researching, this entire debacle has an aura of bold statements about life without grounding in fact.

mechanical_fish 19y ago
Actually, I once heard a great Stanford podcast in which a gerontologist talked about how the mind changes as you age, and one of her points is that the elderly tend to be fairly happy with their lives. It's worth remembering that, while you may look at a 70-year-old and think "I could never live like that", that's largely because your mind is not seventy years old yet. The good -- and scarcely surprising -- news is that old people seem to be fairly happy doing the things old people do. I wish I could provide you with a link to that lecture. Heck, I wish I could find it again myself -- maybe this summary would be less vague, then. But Stanford's "iTunes U" has got to be one of the worst-designed pieces of information technology I've ever seen: you can't Google the damned thing, and once you do find something I have no idea how to link to it. You can Google up plenty of flames: see here: http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/archives/022052.php http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/archives/022052.php
adrianwaj 19y ago
"The young are beset by urges and desires; they love things that give them pleasure. People in their thirties and forties pursue security by amassing power and control, and this is what inspires love in them. Those yet older, having tasted of the evanescence of life, find it easier to love goodness for its own sake." http://www.innernet.org.il/printArticle.php?id=562 http://www.innernet.org.il/printArticle.php?id=562