Intellectual development and aging

Okay, I did the post math – I thought for some reason, week 1 didn’t count and I see its now in the “8” post total – so here I go!!!

I had read once that your intellectual abilities start declining in your mid-30s. I’m not sure what the researchers based this on, but I recall it being a somewhat scholarly article on the difference between high performers and the regular folks.

I was kind of depressed after reading that article. I turned to a co-worker around 7 or 8 years older than my early 30ths and gently told him the bad news that he was past his prime. I started thinking of all the things I wanted to try and better get a move on (guitar lessons! Start today!!!).

It was with great relief that in chapter fourteen of “Learning in Adulthood”, Merriam and co. de-bunk this myth. While the authors do confirm that intellectual ability may decline some, it is not necessarily disastrous for all, compared to what the aforementioned article may have you believe. They do show that it is a complex issue, as complex as measuring intelligence itself and may disappoint those looking for hard fast rules (“… after 30, your mental abilities decrease by x amount every year”).

What the authors do present is, well, that it all depends. It depends on how the intelligence is measured, and there’s about as many ways to measure it as there are intelligence researchers. If a narrow and single facet of intelligence is measured, it does decline. What can help counter those declines is what the adult does to keep their mind active (plasticity) and how they deal with the more obvious declines in overall bodily function (compensation). I am personally fascinated with the concept of plasticity, as I once heard a neuroscientist speak on the topic – not only do humans have the ability to reshape their brain, it is possible to do this in relation to mental illness and brain injuries – depending on the individual. I think this may be where all the aging tips I’ve seen of doing cross word puzzles come from. And what has also been found is that the decline starts far later than once thought, in the 60s and 70s. But it is an very individual process, and likely has a lot to do with their general attitudes towards aging.