I can't help but wonder if all the well intentioned advise here by 20-40 yearolds to their grandparents about how to live their retirement to them sounds the same as a 16yo advicing those here on middle age life decisions.
Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
201–210 of 292 posts
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#202Not only early retirement but any kind of retirement that gets the retiree in a mode that they don't have to try anymore will result in cognitive decline. I am seeing this in my dad who has been retired for ten years now. Throughout his work life he was a sharp hard working banker. Now he uses his age and retirement as an excuse for not trying. Just yesterday he wanted me to order something for him from Amazon. I tol…
"[Geometer] H.S.M. Coxeter lived to the age of 96, working and lecturing right until his death. He attributed his long life to a strict vegetarian diet and he did 50 push-ups every day. He said, I am never bored."
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Coxet...
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess this is why you should work less hard and do more to cultivate hobbies. I can’t imagine retiring and doing nothing. So many projects.
I totally agree. I have so many interests and so little time. I can't wait until I can retire so that I can focus on the things that really interest me. I'm hoping to form groups of like minded people with similar hobbies. I envision my future as one of those old dudes playing chess in the park, except chess would be replaced with one of my many interests.
Make sure your hobbies are far removed from your previous day job or you will probably lose interest very quickly in them after retiring.
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.
To the people downvoting this: why is this an unreasonable perspective? The commenter isn't advocating one way or another, only pointing out that there are people that exist who are content with work as their self-perceived life meaning. I can absolutely see how this can be true for people in the sciences. There are many academics who devote their entire career - and often their life - to finding the answer to extrem…
I understand without really sharing the parent’s sentiment. I’ll probably continue doing some of the work I do now when I retire. But at some point I do want to spend more time on hobbies and travel that’s more in the more time than money (eg backpacking) vein.
But I understand how someone might find fiddling around with photography or home software projects frivolous if they could instead contribute to projects they find significant-but are of a nature that they really need to work on more or less full time.
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except when Google shows another domain as the first (ad) result.
I’ve seen people get viruses from downloading the “first result” on Google, which winds up being a malicious ad.
IIRC there was a first result ad showing malware infected Chrome some time ago
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess this is why you should work less hard and do more to cultivate hobbies. I can’t imagine retiring and doing nothing. So many projects.
I don't understand how so many people can anchor their lives to work. If you do that, when you retire, you've lost your meaning of life. I have a list of things a mile long that I just can't get to because 40 hours a week is already spoken for. Early retirement speeds cognitive decline? Maybe if you sit on the beach and/or watch TV all day long, but that sounds kind of miserable if done for more than a few weeks.
Well, most people I see did have other plans before they retired, but when finally retired and having no one to force them to do anything, they actually do nothing. The hobbies they complained they had no time for, the charities they wanted to work for, etc all quite rapidly vanish. Smart people with high profile jobs who end up watching tv and doing the odd sudoku puzzle. New generations might be different (although I cannot imagine the much reduced attention span of people helps against this) and ofcourse this is anecdotal but I do see this a lot. I know people who are now retired 10+ years and kind of assumed they would be dead by now while they ofcourse have 20 years more probably. At least 3 I know died over 95 in good health (for 95) while being bored shitless (travelling, which somehow is a retirement obsession, apparently gets boring too) for the past 15-20 years.
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also have this intention. I am about 15-20 years from retirement but I have palpable fears that I will forsake my dreams of doing something creative, falling into the rut that I've seen my older relatives and friends follow. You do meet the odd creative and intelligent senior but they are the minority. I hope I fall into that category when I retire!
I hope to emulate my father. He worked til 70. Then went back to university to study a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. After a few months off, he got bored, and has just started back doing a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering. He will be 77 when he finishes.
Damn, that is inspiring. Here I am whining about how late it is in my life to go back to school to get a Bachelor's and your Dad is racking up masters :) I wonder if there are age limits for PhD programs?
Also, I will say, I wish the US was more like Europe in giving people the ability to full-time type work but part-time. I think a lot of older people would jump at the chance to work 40-60% and make full time hourly pay.
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
There haven't been any fundamentally new concepts in computing for decades
Yes and no. Your statement is true about under-the-hood stuff, but false about user interfaces. Your phone interface is not like Windows 95, still less like a green screen terminal talking to a mainframe.
LOL. Downvoted? I think most people browsing HackerNews will not be freaked out by minor UI changes 30 years from now. Even a 3 year old child can figure out how to use an iPad.
Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#209Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand how so many people can anchor their lives to work. If you do that, when you retire, you've lost your meaning of life. I have a list of things a mile long that I just can't get to because 40 hours a week is already spoken for. Early retirement speeds cognitive decline? Maybe if you sit on the beach and/or watch TV all day long, but that sounds kind of miserable if done for more than a few weeks.
Well, most people I see did have other plans before they retired, but when finally retired and having no one to force them to do anything, they actually do nothing. The hobbies they complained they had no time for, the charities they wanted to work for, etc all quite rapidly vanish. Smart people with high profile jobs who end up watching tv and doing the odd sudoku puzzle. New generations might be different (although…
Being self-motivated is actually incredibly difficult. Just ask any PhD student who has hands-off supervisors. Learning to chase your own goals independently is a skill you have to cultivate. You need to learn your weaknesses, what tricks you can employ to get working, and what you actually care about enough to achieve.