
Different parts of the brain work best at different ages - nefitty
http://news.mit.edu/2015/brain-peaks-at-different-ages-0306
======
dcw303
I can't find any scientific references to back it up (I think I first heard it
said on Khan Academy), but I like the idea that the brain is like a muscle -
you need to exercise to keep it strong.

It's only anecdotal evidence, but in comparing seniors I know, the ones who
are still mentally sharp never gave up on learning new things.

It's why I still love coding even though it's probably not optimal for my
career. Better to be a destitute scholar than a mush-headed middle manager.

~~~
facepalm
There are the famous taxi drivers of London with their enlarged brain regions
for geo-spatial whatever. Recently I seem to have read several articles
claiming people who keep learning tend to be less affected by Alzheimer.

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datashovel
I have a theory that there are different types of brains that peak on
different cognitive skills at different ages. So while I think it's a noble
effort to find the average and standard deviation of the entire population,
I'd be more curious to see if they can't find clusters of different types of
brains that behave similarly but perhaps very differently than the "global
average".

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jrapdx3
As a clinician research showing cognitive abilities varying with age is
unsurprising. Unfortunately the full report is hidden behind a paywall. The
article mentions a plan to make the datasets used in the study publicly
accessible. That's great but that idea should also be applied to the findings
described in the article.

Now that I'm becoming "old", the effects of aging on cognition are personally
all the more relevant but even long ago it was clear to me that aging was
associated with cognitive decline in some respects and gain in others.

The research confirms ability to absorb and recall random pieces of
information is greater in youth than later years. One example is the common
complaint of people in their 50's and beyond of delayed recall of names of
people or objects as though their "circuits" are not working as quickly as
earlier in life.

The article points out the late peak of accumulated knowledge, which is
consistent with my own observations. However, I believe this is not just a
matter of knowing static facts, but represents the subtle element of extended
experience that's difficult to define or measure via tests like the WAIS used
in the research. The contribution of experience is from problem solving over
long duration, conferring the ability to better predict the outcome of
particular actions or decision paths.

The value of experience is probably what is meant when referring to the wisdom
of the old, though given the frequent discussions on HN of ageism in tech
fields, the benefits of wisdom may be unappreciated.

~~~
scihub
[http://pss.sagepub.com.sci-
hub.io/content/26/4/433.full](http://pss.sagepub.com.sci-
hub.io/content/26/4/433.full)

------
jpt4
Anecdotally, my rapid retention social memory of names, faces, and salient
details improved (self-) noticeably beginning around the age of 22 (i.e. the
last 1.5 years), without conscious training or significant environment change.

