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.
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.
I could't agree with you more. In the General Discussion of the paper [1] the authors write
Our data offer an explanation: Vocabulary learning is continuing later into adulthood, possibly because of environmental factors (e.g., continued exposure to new words). Some purchase may be gained by exploring whether performance on other tasks shows similar generational changes.
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.