Courtesy of Betty White, facebook.com
A woman emailed to say that knowing I am in my late 80s, she admired my energy. Admittedly, I like to keep busy, but I don’t always excel at what I do. I’m bad with computers. I find them either unreliable or inscrutable, which is my way of saying I’m slow to learn their ways.
I don’t mind that being old I’m more sluggish at learning than in the past. Youth may have its benefits, but it lacks others.
As we age, we get better at perceptual completion, for example. We can imagine a figure in its entirety even though it is partially hidden. (“Successful Aging,” by Daniel J. Levitin, Random House, Large Print edition, 2020, pg. 155). Our ability to fill in the picture comes from having accumulated set[s] of things we’ve seen and experienced. (Ibid, pg. 198) The more experiences, the better we cope with new information. (Ibid, pg. 199) In other words, we learn by drawing analogies, a talent that may be unique to our species.
Our ability to heal our bodies works by analogy. Confronted by a new strain of the cold virus, our immune systems draw from what they know about other viruses they’ve encountered and use that knowledge to design defensive strategies. Similarly, having mended a broken arm, our cells know how to repair a broken leg.
Infirmities that come to us with old age are different says neuroscientist Daniel Levitin. The body has no remedy for cataracts or hearing loss. …evolution does not generate adaptive improvements for conditions that occur outside of normal reproductive age. (Ibid, pg. 173.) Having lost our capacity to procreate, Nature seems to lose interest in us and provides no compensating “analogies.”
Though he knows more about aging than I do, I don’t fully embrace Levitin’s view. If procreation is the sole point of our existence, I’m left to wonder why men don’t outlive women. Women lose their ova at menopause. Men generate life-giving sperm throughout their lives. The actor Al Pacino fathered a child at the age of 93. Even so, men generally die younger than women.
I doubt Nature is done with us when we grow old. If so, why do our brains retain their plasticity? We continue to learn though we become more contemplative with the passing seasons. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say Nature wants the old to hang around as guardians to the young.
We understand that parents are necessary. They look after their offspring as the young develop survival skills. But learning doesn’t come in one fell swoop. The brain’s limited capacity forces us to develop in stages–what neurologists call critical learning periods. Each phase opens and closes at different points in human development. Learning a language is easy for children because communication is vital to their survival. Once they’ve become proficient with words or hand signals, their little gray cells turn to other tasks, each with a critical learning period. Once a portal closes, mastering its skill is difficult, and in some cases, impossible. Vision is one example.
Old age is a stage unique to itself. Ripe with knowledge and no longer required to master tasks, the mind organizes itself holistically. Older brains excel at seeing the larger picture, and that’s why I suggest Nature isn’t indifferent to the old and wants us to provide younger generations with a wider perspective.
Some societies venerate the old because they value that wider perspective. The United States isn’t one of those. Americans suffer from a Hollywood state of mind. We cherish cosmetic virtues more than information. Dr. Anthony Faucci, an expert on viruses, was pilloried during Covid 19 because he was an expert.
As repositories of wisdom, the old in this country are similarly disregarded. The phrase, “In your day,” is a form of derision in the mouths of the young. I confess I’ve never figured out what that “day” is. Do the young suppose the old live by a different calendar? Are we immune to the catastrophes of climate change or war? If pricked, do we not bleed?
Ageism, a prejudice against the old, is a cancer in our society. It denigrates wisdom and blocks the natural flow of information from one generation to the next. What’s more, if we treat someone who is old like a fool, he’s likely to become one.
Do I exaggerate? Ask yourself why is Alzheimer’s on the rise in our country. True, people are living longer. But science has also established a link between ageism and Alzheimer’s. The medical journal The Lancet also confirms that ageism shortens the life span of the elderly and worsens their mental and physical health.
Unfortunately, our society sows the seeds of ageism early. Consider age-based mandatory retirement. Approximately 30 percent of all workers and more than 40 percent of men between the ages of 60-65 face an employment ceiling regardless of their ability to perform necessary tasks.
President Joe Biden finds himself mired in the morass of ageism as he runs for a second term. Let him forget someone’s name and the headlines scream, “The Nation is Lost!” Yet I do wonder why no one questions the competence of the journalists writing these reports.
Recently, some of them noted that a neurologist had made several visits to the White House. They assumed he‘d come to see Joe Biden. He hadn’t. If these journalists had checked the President’s calendar, they would have found that most of those dates. Biden wasn’t in Washington, D.C. Nor did they seem aware that his doctor had posted a full report of his health online in February.
Had these reporters been old men, they might have been accused of senility. As they were young, all they suffered was a moment of embarrassment.
The young are free to make mistakes. It’s expected of them. When the old falter, it leads to ostracism.
As I am old, I close with a warning to the young. Nature decrees it is my duty to them. Therefore, let me advise each succeeding generation to avoid the temptation of self-indulgent ageism. It will poison your future…assuming you are lucky enough to grow old.
