The Dangers of Aging Without Learning

Created by Dall•E. Prompt: "Aging and Learning" by Vasily Grigorevich Perov (1873). Edit: Smiling woman.

I once attended a lecture about an experiment researchers did with the elderly. They were interested in how we learn as we age, so for a few weeks, they trained these older participants in Spanish, painting, or iPad skills.

It was a somewhat challenging course. It required a lot of work and a few dropped out because of it. But the participants that stayed developed their skills and after a few weeks, surprised themselves and much of their friends and family with their progress.

You can imagine how stunning it would be to know someone all your life and then at the ripe age of 82, watch them do something they’ve never done before. Grandma went from not knowing what iPads were to using them better than 20 year olds. Grandpa went from drawing figures like a caveman to sketching them like an artist. Who knew they had such potential?

The reaction of people who didn't know them was quite interesting too. "You have such talent" (as if they were simply blessed with the fruit of their efforts).

The researchers made a point to emphasize how people would phrase their compliments; it was surprisingly common (as if they had been given God-given talents, instead of raw skill through focus and training).

And the participants were just as surprised about their growth. They didn't believe they could still learn . It just wasn't a real possibility in their mind. Over the years, they had built an image of who they were, what they could and couldn't do, staying within the confines of their self-imposed limits, unconscious as they were.

Listening to those researchers left me with some reflections about my own life, the trajectory of it, what I might choose to become.

Part of me suspects there's some truth to wisdom and old age—the younger generation doesn't always step forward in the right direction. Cynicism of youth is sometimes rightly justified and choosing not to participate in the popular culture leaves some room for your own personal interests. What some might call "weirdness".

So be it. True expression leads you down unfamiliar roads.

But some days, my pride and lack of knowledge feels like an excuse to stay inside hidden doors, lamenting about a changing world, because I couldn't keep up with it.

I try not to become that person. I try not to cut off too many branches. I don't know where they'll lead, what I’ll become.

It would be a shame to grow old and weary, to abandon new paths because they seemed too distant.