71–80 of 142 posts
This may be good for his personal development or growth and understanding but wouldn't his constituents rather he dedicate his time to representing them and their interests in the house of representatives?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you are not growing, you are declining or dead. What's wrong with retiring and living out your last years peacefully relaxing with your hobbies and family? There's absolutely no reason why people have to continually grow until they're in the ground. You're applying an adage about companies to people, but companies need to fight against inflation, and people don't.
I'd argue hobbies are growth though. People might not be racing to smash new frontiers, but they do learn at a steady pace with hobbies, even if it's as simple as developing some dexterity for a particular task.
The need is to smash, or more gently explore and master, new frontiers for you.
(And to the extent you desire it, that's what really leads to new frontiers for society - personal passion and growth, leads to projects, leads to a revelation for everyone.)
A major problem in our society is that '72-year-old' is in the headline. If you are not growing, you are declining or dead. Not only does the world change under your feet, you need that stimulation just to stay healthy. We ruin the talent, economic value, and freedom and opportunity of a very large portion of the population by dimissing the growth of anyone in late middle-age or later. 72 years old shouldn't be remar…
I get what you’re saying, but I think it’s a little too much to call it a “major problem”. Getting a master’s degree is a ceremonial task that has basically no meaning other than what certain jobs may require or want, usually jobs at the beginning of one’s career. Getting a master’s at 72 is kind of weird I think, since he could just as easily learn the material without the degree by taking selective courses. Getting…
My father is in his mid 70s and has been boarded in pathology and emergency medicine for most of his adult life. Recently he decided to get boarded in genetic medicine and start a new medical career.
This may be good for his personal development or growth and understanding but wouldn't his constituents rather he dedicate his time to representing them and their interests in the house of representatives?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If you are not growing, you are declining or dead. Normativity of growth also gives all sorts of inefficiencies, diseases and economic problems. > Not only does the world change under your feet, you need that stimulation just to stay healthy. I partially agree with this. You need to keep updating your model of the world not only because the world is changing under your feet, but also your priors are always guarante…
I think you interpret "growth" in a narrow framework of your perspective. The word means a lot more, and I meant things very different from your interpretation. For example, I wasn't talking about economics at all. Also, that growth (in the sense I mean) is necessary for people to function. They deteriorate without it, like a tree without enough water and sun. > A wiser old person's transfer of their skills and persp…
I'd say the same for your premise. Your framework was "growth == better", I tried to demonstrate why that is not adequate, and in certain cases harmful.
> They deteriorate without it, like a tree without enough water and sun
And anyone with house plants know that too much of any is equally deadly as too little.
> why it's mutually exclusive with growth (in any sense).
Simple opportunity cost. An elderly doing a cultural transfer of skills, perspectives and knowledge to their grandkids, neighborhood, junior professionals etc vs. doing their own personal growth things. Don't get me wrong, in this case maybe getting a master's in AI and combining all that with their existing competencies and then doing a culture transfer could be the optimal choice here, but the time and energy cost of the activities pursued has to occupy disparate spaces either way.
So no, personal growth at all costs is not the most optimal thing at all times.
A major problem in our society is that '72-year-old' is in the headline. If you are not growing, you are declining or dead. Not only does the world change under your feet, you need that stimulation just to stay healthy. We ruin the talent, economic value, and freedom and opportunity of a very large portion of the population by dimissing the growth of anyone in late middle-age or later. 72 years old shouldn't be remar…
I get what you’re saying, but I think it’s a little too much to call it a “major problem”. Getting a master’s degree is a ceremonial task that has basically no meaning other than what certain jobs may require or want, usually jobs at the beginning of one’s career. Getting a master’s at 72 is kind of weird I think, since he could just as easily learn the material without the degree by taking selective courses. Getting…
I play poker with some 90 year old's, and they are damn sharp. Some people get dimmer with age, many continue to shine.
Getting a degree is a more traditional route, which older people tend to pursue. But he might be doing it for show partly since he is a politician.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are thousands of different techniques from thousands of different developmental philosophies. For example from a Jungian-oriented perspective on "the afternoon of life," you could say that the tension between opposites is reduced, so you can finally start to look at combining opposites that you had previously thought were required to work separately. Putting the weapons down and putting ideals back in the front…
I guess life processes are quite different at maturity, e.g. routines, roles and responsibilities they all condition time and available attention, which condition the possibility space for learning.
We have known for a long time that various stuff will be learned by you whether you prefer it or not, depending on your past and barely mitigated by even a generally conscious developmental bent.
If you can move it into the conscious zone you can control future outcomes to some extent and possibly control the upside and downside factors through a process of reconciliation.
And as a general developing body / organism, we are all experiencing this together as well, with even less conscious control. Species as individual with separate personality characteristics.
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I consider anything past 70 to be a bonus. If I make it for a few more years than that and I feel like studying, then why not? I mean, I probably won't want to, but if that guy want to study then good on him!
I’m really worried about existential depression at and beyond that age. Hopefully there are some (legal) drugs for that, I don’t really trust my own mind to get me through that (and after 70, I’m not really worried about a substance dependency).