Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study • Hacker News Board

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#261

Post by tluyben2 » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:27 PM UTC

saiya-jin wrote: post #259

greggman2 wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a 1000x more productive when I have a support group that I spend time lots of time with. Usually that support group comes from being at the office with co-workers. If I retired and didn't find a support group I'm pretty confident I would not stay motivated. It's not just having people around either, it's shared goals and shared responsibilities. I'm more productive when I know others need my work. We could be col…

What you describe sounds roughly similar to what parent op is warning about. Being reliant on external forces for your own happiness / fulfillment will probably suck in retirement - people generally lose friends, not gain them over the years. Find something that motivates you on its own, regardless of anybody's else involvement. For me that would be travelling, hiking, and generally being in nature - but this require…

Besides really bad ailments which restrict you to a bed or location or when your brain gives out (the worst option, but yes, it of course happens; stroke, dementia, etc), I try to build on two things; a) hiking/nature b) brainy hobbies and I try to combine them. I read/write parts while hiking, I program parts while hiking, I interact with my friends while in the middle of rainforests etc. If the a) falls away because of an ailment, I am perfectly happy doing b). I consciously try to prepare for the future as I have seen too many unhappy people and that really is so not needed.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#262

Post by izzydata » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:28 PM UTC

Roark66 wrote: post #231

lisper wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People used to know how to type a url into an address bar. People used to know how to write in cursive too. Some skills just get obsolete.

>People used to know how to write in cursive too. Some skills just get obsolete. I heard this few times. Is it actually a thing that people don't know how to write cursive? Natural writing (cursive) has been a part of primary education in most(perhaps all) countries since the beginning. Did they actually remove it recently? That would be insane. How one is supposed to be able to write quickly, as in when taking notes…

It was part of my education through middle school up to 2004 and I had never used it since so I don't remember it.

On the other hand there are kids today that aren't taught proper typing and they can manage 30 words per minute at best while I can do 140 because I type constantly.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#263

Post by Phenomenit » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:42 PM UTC

hastes wrote: post #260

The child in me wonders if something like video games (i.e. StarCraft II/DotA/LoL/Card games, something with strategy and thinking) would be a way to fight this onset of cognitive decline in retired folks. It would be interesting to see a study of retired folks from the millennial generation, providing they play much more games than older generations.

My view is that games help you become better at playing games. A while ago a lot of people said that doing crossword puzzles was a good way to keep your mind sharp but it's not really the case. The elderly who did a lot s puzzles just got good at doing puzzles.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#264

Post by FrojoS » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:47 PM UTC

tluyben2 wrote: post #206

Daynil wrote: post #112

Earlier 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…

This observation is also very relevant to discussions on universal basic income.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#265

Post by tluyben2 » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 2:56 PM UTC

FrojoS wrote: post #264

tluyben2 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This observation is also very relevant to discussions on universal basic income.

Yes, that's exactly true. We need education to step up teaching people to enjoy solitude and not get instantly depressed/anxious and 'learn' how to have and enjoy hobbies. for both retirement and universal income.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#266

Post by toomuchtodo » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 3:17 PM UTC

ImaCake wrote: post #210

tluyben2 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Do you think there's demand for a motivation as a service non-profit?

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#267

Post by WhompingWindows » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 3:26 PM UTC

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #245

fooblitzky wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that social activities are even more important than mentally stimulating activities.

I wonder how that tallies up for introverts vs extroverts. Personally I'd rather stick sharpened pencils in my eyes than partake in social activities with a bunch of other retirees.

How introverts are poking their mental decline in the eye!

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#268

Post by foobiekr » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 3:28 PM UTC

bcrosby95 wrote: post #115

sbierwagen wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brain volume by age: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316307676/figure/fi... Various forms of intelligence by age: https://miro.medium.com/max/1038/1*ccb0bgIqgebwJWTdMGMXXQ.pn... If this correlation isn't causation, then I'm not sure what is.

Your chart seems to indicate software development related intelligence peaks somewhere between 40-60. Given this, why do software companies like young people so much?

Most software development isn’t high skill work.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#269

Post by tzjmetron » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 3:47 PM UTC

Daynil wrote: post #112

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #60

Earlier 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.

Precisely.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#270

Post by brokensegue » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 4:13 PM UTC

Roark66 wrote: post #231

lisper wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People used to know how to type a url into an address bar. People used to know how to write in cursive too. Some skills just get obsolete.

>People used to know how to write in cursive too. Some skills just get obsolete. I heard this few times. Is it actually a thing that people don't know how to write cursive? Natural writing (cursive) has been a part of primary education in most(perhaps all) countries since the beginning. Did they actually remove it recently? That would be insane. How one is supposed to be able to write quickly, as in when taking notes…

insane? I learned cursive but I was always faster writing without it. this has never been a problem for me. I type faster than handwriting. Cursive is a waste of valuable school time. there are more useful things to teach.

if you actually think "fast hand-written note taking" is a critical skill you should advocate for teaching shorthand. I'm not convinced cursive is actually faster and the science on that is hardly clear. http://nautil.us/issue/40/learning/cursive-handwriting-and-o...