From the time we’re toddlers, we’re taught to respect our elders. We seek their advice and listen as they regale us with stories from olden times. There’s something about their insight and perspective that we just can’t find anywhere else.
As it turns out, that old illusion of “elderly wisdom” is no mere myth! There is real, hard science behind it. As The New York Times reports, a bold new research paper challenges the conventional scientific belief in mental decline among the elderly. And while it isn’t the first study to do so, it is the largest, most diverse, and arguably the most reliable.
The study’s authors disagree with the traditional model of mental function, in which acuity is thought to slip with time. Instead, they suggest that different and unique mental strengths peak at different ages throughout our lives. Young adults are the strongest when it comes to puzzle solving, for example. The elderly, meanwhile, thrive in social judgment and short-term memory.
In fact, the experts believe those particular skills may actually peak very late in life, meaning seniors could be sharper in some regards than the generations below them. If so, that might explain why older people are so often regarded as intuitive, wily, and wise.
The study is exciting not only because of the hope it offers an aging population but also because it helps to redefine what it means to be “old” in the twenty-first century. An increasing body of evidence proves that our latter years aren’t the doldrums they were once thought to be.
So to the young among us, remember: your grandparents really are as wise as your parents say! And to seniors of a certain age, we say: don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t as sharp as you once were — if anything, the very opposite might be true!
