Small anecdote:
Back in 2017 when Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out, I was able to easily solve the labyrinths. I had all the turns I took in mind and was easily able to backtrack. Back then it was a walk in the park.
When I tried to do the same labyrinths a few weeks ago, I was heavily struggling. I wasn’t able to keep all the paths in mind and lost easily the orientation which surprised me quite a lot.
Of course can also be attributed to a varying mental state but nevertheless it scared me a bit about the apparent loss of certain cognitive abilities.
Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
31–40 of 155 posts
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#32I had a nasty car accident a few years ago and felt like my memory wasn't as good afterwards (despite tests from medical professionals that disagreed with me on that).
I addressed this by developing new, very detailed note-taking habits. Absolutely anything I work on now happens in a private or public GitHub issues thread. I take notes on my progress constantly - decisions I've made, dead ends I've explored, things I need to do next.
Whether or not I actually have any memory problems this approach has been a huge boost to my productivity. I wish I'd worked like this for my whole career.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#33I'm in my 40s and honestly feel like my problem solving ability is increasing every year and that I'm more able to better understand and solve problems than at any other point in my life. I also drink and smoke plenty of weed, and hardly sleep so I doubt that's the source ;) a couple of points: - I realize now that when I was younger I felt correct more often than I was. I think one major reason for feelings of cogni…
Wisdom beats intelligence.
In the small, I'm not as fast as I was. I code slower. I think slower. I probably type slower.
In the large, that doesn't matter. I go down fewer dead ends. I can just see things that I used to have to think through. Overall, I'm faster than I used to be, even though I don't feel as sharp as I did.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#34"- Maybe I've actually always been dumb and am only now realizing it!"
== wisdom
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#35I am in my mid 40's and recently really noticed this. It felt like some of the teeth in the gears of my mind were worn down and things were slipping. After complaining about it to some peers I was informed this could be due to low testosterone so I went and had that tested. Apparently my testosterone level was that of a 70 year old man so I started testosterone replacement therapy. I can say that it is a complete gam…
I am in my mid 40's and recently really noticed this
Honest question - how much exercise were you getting before you went to testosterone therapy?
The reason I ask is because of the studies that have shown that the decline in testosterone associated with aging is because of poor health, not age. Example:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110607121129.h...
I am in the next decade after you and have noticed no decline. I do heavy weight lifting three days per week and burn about 1,000 calories per day with cardio. That seems to be a sweet spot - too little exercise or too much and your testosterone will take a hit. Rubbish diet will not help though either.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#36A little aside: Accept and enjoy the slow path.
You can't run fast as before, but exist a lot of value in pay attention to the road, something that being younger rarely happened.
The past experience also helps to be faster: You know what to avoid or have develop a proven way to solve things.
Also, learn to rest well. Is more than just sleep, maybe the rest of the day is attempting to be too hectic and now is not the time for that.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#37I'm in my 40s and honestly feel like my problem solving ability is increasing every year and that I'm more able to better understand and solve problems than at any other point in my life. I also drink and smoke plenty of weed, and hardly sleep so I doubt that's the source ;) a couple of points: - I realize now that when I was younger I felt correct more often than I was. I think one major reason for feelings of cogni…
>> I also drink and smoke plenty of weed, How is drinking weed an option, though?
Clearly I'm implying drinking alcohol and smoking weed.
That said, I do think there is much work to be done in the cannabis cocktail area. Flavor wise there is a lot of unexplored possibility, the major challenge in this space is ensuring dosage is correct since the effects of each substance are felt on such different time lines. You don't want to start feeling a bit too drunk and realize that the weed hasn't even hit you yet.
Cannabis oil fat washing is probably the best approach to this (but fairly expensive to experiment with). While going the tincture direction seems obvious, I think that's going to have too little flavor and too much THC.
If anyone has an links to people working in this space I'd be happy to have them.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#38I'm fairly useless at IC work right now with two kids under 5. I was getting smarter again as the first got more independent and I got more sleep, but now we have another newborn. Just hoping I can coast on previous accomplishments until either I move full-time to management or the kids get older and I'm able to think straight again.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#39Yes. Got to the point that I was taking dementia medication. A loop was a major challenge for me. After a few years it came down to two issues. I had a clotting disorder. (Factor 5 Leiden) I was suffering minor strokes (TIA) without knowing it. I had high cranial pressure (IIH), which leads to brain fog. When I started blood thinners, and got IIH under control It was like a flip was switched. Problems that had been t…
This is for everyone else since hindsight is 20/20, but heavy and consistent cardio exercise can help prevent issues like this. That and keeping your weight on the lighter side.
Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?
#40I'm in my 40s and feel sharp, with some evidence to back that up (such as career success and learning new things well). I believe these things help me stay sharp: I prioritize sleep. I try to get exercise (most often running) every day. I try to write every day; I write about ideas (typically new ideas in math or philosophy). I often read something I'm learning, such as a math book, something for work, or learning a new language. I meet weekly (online) with someone who's teaching me a new language - in this case French, but I think what's important is to keep learning. My work presents new technical challenges regularly, and I made a life decision to change my work whenever I feel burnout approaching.
To address other comments: I have two young kids, and I've been a single dad since my youngest was 3. Some commenters speak as if having kids kills your work or thinking life. This is partially true for the first year because of sleep depravation. And it's a new level of difficulty in terms of organizational demand on your life. It's harder. But it doesn't kill your mental abilities, and in fact I'm a happier person with my kids around, which gives me more motivation and life satisfaction. I've been able to solo run a successful bootstrapped startup while being a single dad. It's difficult and requires focus and deliberate life organization, but it's possible, and in fact quite rewarding and nice.
(Also, maybe the above makes it sound like I've had zero problems, but that's not true. It's been a long journey to figure out my priorities, with many mistakes and setbacks to being where I want to be. I have had times when I felt mentally less sharp, and worked to recover from those.)