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Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#121

Post by lfowles »

codingdave wrote: post #47

Honestly, I feel like I've outgrown the whole "dreaming up the next big thing." I know my dreams. I am already following them. I feel like the younger folk tend to re-invent ideas that have come and gone, and don't do enough research to see what has come before. They spin their wheels figuring out things that us older folk already know. Sure, they do it with newer toolkits than I know, and that is why I keep up on HN…

> I also think that being older, with a family, and a full life outside of work, I'm not interested in pursuing wealth the same way that young people are. I have a nest egg, I have a good salary, I also have a wife, children, a small farm that we run, mountains, deserts and oceans to explore, stars to look at, etc.

As a young person (26), what looks like a pursuit for wealth from the outside is just me trying to get to this stability point so I can slow down. :) I don't even live in an area with absurd housing costs and I still feel like that's a distant dream if I keep on keeping on at my dayjob.

Reinventing the wheel? Sounds suspiciously like the process of learning! "Teaching is better than doing is better than being taught."

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#122

Post by [deleted] »

robotkilla wrote: post #76
GFischer wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 34 as well, and I'm amazed at some of the things my 20 year old self was able to solve (mostly math and physics related stuff). There's a belief (apparently not yet backed by research) that math skills degrade after 35, as this article discusses and tries to disprove: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~rmclachl/overthehill.html However, I don't think it's slowing me down, I'm still capable of learning and producing, and I'…

Very interesting and also terrifying - i'm trying to shift into the indie game space so hearing that my math may get worse than it already is terrifies me. I have a really hard time believing that comprehension of math would decrease with age though. It seems to me that instead people typically stop using it after a certain age and thus their skills deteriorate.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#123

Post by robotkilla »

sabarjp wrote: post #102
robotkilla wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very interesting and also terrifying - i'm trying to shift into the indie game space so hearing that my math may get worse than it already is terrifies me. I have a really hard time believing that comprehension of math would decrease with age though. It seems to me that instead people typically stop using it after a certain age and thus their skills deteriorate.

The brain is fully developed by age 25 and starts to lose mass from then until death (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283594 ). Brains of 90 year olds can be just 60% the size of a young adult. Neurons do not repair well and they (or rather, stem cells) aren't programmed to divide after the skull runs out of room. I would not worry, though. The brain is very flexible. If you keep your mathematics sharp, you…

wait a minute... my math might be a bit rusty, but 28 samples is rather low isn't it? I'm a bit less worried now.

edit: oops 28, 59 and 6 samples... maybe I really am becoming an idiot. still not much data though.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#124

Post by scott_karana »

habitue wrote: post #81
codingdave wrote: post #47

Honestly, I feel like I've outgrown the whole "dreaming up the next big thing." I know my dreams. I am already following them. I feel like the younger folk tend to re-invent ideas that have come and gone, and don't do enough research to see what has come before. They spin their wheels figuring out things that us older folk already know. Sure, they do it with newer toolkits than I know, and that is why I keep up on HN…

I agree people reinvent the wheel all the time, but instead of seeing it as something naive people do, I see it as fertile earth that genuinely new things can grow from. I feel like "young developers reinvent what we already had 30 years ago" kind of ennui gets espoused here on HN a lot. To me, this is less wisdom gleaned from experience and more a preference based on shifting priorities. There's nothing wrong with n…

> and that is why I keep up on HN - because the newer technologies are where the younger crowd can teach me something.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#127

Post by rbl »

0xdeadbeefbabe wrote: post #52

Do 20 year olds feel lost when their next big thing is a derivative work from the 70s[0]? [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY

Just picking a nit here... The 'Mother of all Demos' is from the end of 1968, so the '60s. I've been about 2 months old when that happened. :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#128

Post by CuriouslyC »

How do I handle getting older? I'm dealing with it by becoming a bad-ass. Age doesn't matter in the face of extreme competence. I used to just kind of wing-it and shoot from the hip, that attitude leads to problems.

Now, if I am seriously about doing something, I pull out all the stops to be the absolute best. I approach my interests like a scientist; I keep detailed notes, meticulously measure and track progress, and come up with experiments to expand my knowledge. I have an attitude of constant improvement, so I'm always looking for new things to try and new ways to excel.

I have absolutely zero worries about a midlife crisis or any sort of malaise associated with growing older. I'm killing it, and I know that as circumstances change I'll be able to change and adapt with them to stay on top of my game.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#129

Post by cryodesign »

evo_9 wrote: post #88

I'm 48 and I do feel that I can get more years out of life because I'm more aware and focused on making it happen. I've been fortune that I grew up playing hockey and developed an almost religious belief in the power of working out. It's the best way to stay sharp mentally, feel better physically, and stave of the effects of aging as best we can right now. We are also supremely lucky because our knowledge in this spa…

Live long enough to live forever(ish)... my goal as well - I missed soaking up knowledge when I was younger and trying to catch up now.

In terms of diet, you might also be interested in Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738215112/

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with getting older?

#130

Post by CuriouslyC »

sabarjp wrote: post #102
robotkilla wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very interesting and also terrifying - i'm trying to shift into the indie game space so hearing that my math may get worse than it already is terrifies me. I have a really hard time believing that comprehension of math would decrease with age though. It seems to me that instead people typically stop using it after a certain age and thus their skills deteriorate.

The brain is fully developed by age 25 and starts to lose mass from then until death (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19283594 ). Brains of 90 year olds can be just 60% the size of a young adult. Neurons do not repair well and they (or rather, stem cells) aren't programmed to divide after the skull runs out of room. I would not worry, though. The brain is very flexible. If you keep your mathematics sharp, you…

Exercise (among other things) has been linked to the growth of new neurons.
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