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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nPhoto: Jamie Street, Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n In 2007, Mark Zuckerberg famously said that young people are just smarter<\/a> than older people. <\/p>\n Not only was he wrong about experience, depth, & pattern recognition; but he also kinda \u201cforgot\u201d The Bell Curve. <\/p>\n But that\u2019s okay. Because SV tech-bro strivers drank the Kool-Aid anyway. <\/p>\n And not to lend even a mote of credence to a guy like Zuck, <\/p>\n But \u201cYou can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks.\u201d has<\/em> been a saying forever. <\/p>\n So is it true? Do older people just get hidebound & turn into \u201cOld Fools\u201d? <\/p>\n Or is that take just a lazy smear-campaign of a situation that can actually be improved? <\/p>\n A team of German researchers decided to find out\u2026<\/p>\n Read on to find out the details\u2026<\/p>\n So before Mark did his \u201cthought leader\u201d thing that was echo-chambered by other tech-bros, we had a better model. <\/p>\n The older guys were revered as knowing everything, but maybe had more friction learning the newer stuff and taking immediate action. <\/p>\n And the younger guys were revered as people who had tons of energy, but not always the best idea how to direct it in sophisticated ways. <\/p>\n BUT, that nagging advice about dogs & tricks has<\/strong> been around for a long time\u2026<\/p>\n So to settle the dispute, researchers from Heidelberg gathered 165 adults for 8 weeks of work. <\/p>\n The subject ages were 19-78 and they participated in 2-hour sessions\/wk in groups of 5-12. <\/p>\n They\u2019d then do later exercises<\/a> on their own, take some notes, and then check-in with a partner afterward. <\/p>\n By the end, the 5 sets of 2 test-results showed all subjects reported better social-engagement and emotional regulation. <\/p>\n -Regardless of age.<\/p>\n The 78 year-olds did just as well as the 20 year-olds.<\/p>\n Old dog. New tricks!<\/p>\n These results proved stable over the course of more than a year. <\/p>\n Even though everyone self-selected into the program and paid admission fees,<\/p>\n They all made progress at the same rate. <\/p>\n Except the older subjects even out-worked the younger ones across all metrics of materials, milestones, and engagement. <\/p>\n But to be fair, the younger subjects may have had more chaotic and packed schedules. <\/p>\n Since all of these subjects were really motivated, progress might not be similar in the general population, <\/p>\n Even though the potential still remains.<\/p>\n The first four weeks were classes & homework dedicated to:<\/p>\n 1)<\/strong> Stress Management<\/a> The second four weeks were similarly-structured. But the topics were:<\/p>\n 4)<\/strong> Interpersonal Skills The two ways these were taught were by:<\/p>\n Mindfulness-based stress-reduction and ACT, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.<\/p>\n Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)<\/a> is the practice of widening the gap between a stressful stimulus and our typical or even automatic reaction. <\/p>\n This space gives us time to consider things in a more zoomed-out way, and less of a judgmental and volatile reaction. <\/p>\n \u201cRespond instead of React.\u201d is the way it\u2019s sometimes framed.<\/p>\n The other technique that was used, (ACT) is a bit similar. <\/p>\n It emphasizes: <\/p>\n Given all that, it\u2019s main-focus still seems to be on action.<\/p>\n For example, here are a few things that MBSR and ACT could help someone new to a program of study get past:<\/p>\n What Anxiety or Resistance says vs. The MBSR\/ACT reframe:<\/p>\n With that said, here are a few reasons people over the age of 30 may get mistakenly called slower or less-intelligent by Zuck\u2019s Cult Of Youth: <\/p>\n So hopefully with things like those in-mind, we might return to the old paradigm. <\/p>\n Where each contributor gets valued for the unique tools & perspectives<\/a> they bring.<\/p>\n -Instead of you know, getting defamed by slapdash ideologues and their cult-followers one way or another. <\/p>\n That way, we can bring the benefits of The Beginner\u2019s Mind, the possibility for new approaches & innovations, and the near-psychic perspective of pattern-matching intuitive experience all together. <\/p>\n Hopefully, we can all encourage each other to see that change is not impossible. It just needs the right growing-environment, like fussy plants in a greenhouse.<\/p>\n Because youth is still no guarantee of a 100+ IQ or A Big5 Openness score over 50, no matter what % of total fluid-intelligence is there.<\/p>\n And age is no guarantee of cynicism, glaciality in motion, or outright mulishness. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s all try to remember both the good and bad sides of the old Buddhist saying on The Beginner\u2019s Mind<\/a>: <\/p>\n \u201cIn the mind of the beginner, there are many possibilities. But in the mind of the expert, there are few.\u201d -Shunryu Suzuki<\/p>\n If we can balance that tension to make speed & novelty work together with wisdom & insight, then all sides get to celebrate good outcomes. <\/p>\n End-Of-Article BONUS!:<\/strong> It\u2019s shepherding-advice. About actual dogs<\/strong>. From 1523. <\/p>\n Soooo,\u2026 maybe a little<\/em> bit of a stretch to apply to human-beings, after all.<\/p>\n \u2022 Source: U.Heidelberg<\/a> Photo: Jamie Street, Unsplash Are Old Sayings About Aging Minds The Truth, Or Just Lazy Myths?: In 2007, Mark Zuckerberg famously said that young people are just smarter than older people. Not only was he wrong about experience, depth, & pattern recognition; but he also kinda \u201cforgot\u201d The Bell Curve. But that\u2019s okay. Because SV […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7067619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110118,228813,140988,11947,100026],"tags":[228814,7001,2634,3191,13033,25893,660,418],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7067618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aging","category-brain-fitness","category-intelligence","category-psychology","category-work","tag-brain-fitness","tag-change","tag-dog","tag-fear","tag-intelligence","tag-psychology","tag-tricks","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\nAre Old Sayings About Aging Minds The Truth, Or Just Lazy Myths?:<\/h2>\n
The Short Answer:<\/h2>\n
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> Show\/Hide Table Of Contents <<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
2)<\/strong> Resilience
3)<\/strong> Emotional Regulation<\/p>\n
5)<\/strong> Social Dynamics
6)<\/strong> Setting Boundaries<\/p>\n\n
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\u201cI\u2019m noticing an anxious thought about age. My value is Connection. I will try one \u2018new trick\u2019 today.\u201d<\/li>\n
\u201cI feel an immediate frustration\/defense\/anger-reaction in my body. I will increase the time & thought gap before I respond.\u201d<\/li>\n
\u201cI am noticing a fear of judgment. I will watch that thought float by like a leaf on a stream and focus on my breath anyway.\u201d<\/li>\n
\u201cBoundaries aren\u2019t advanced-Calculus; they are logic and self-respect. I can have the same as any average person.\u201d<\/li>\n
\u201cEverybody has to start somewhere. I value Learning so I will try baby-steps like any beginner would.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
That old saying about dogs and tricks? <\/p>\n
\u2022 More Coverage: BBC, Fertility Of The Older Mind<\/a>
\u2022 Source Study: Nature.Comm.Psy \u2013 Personality intervention affects emotional stability and extraversion similarly in older and younger adults<\/a>![\"old](\"https:\/\/healthtrekker.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/glasses-dog-magazine-pt.jpg\")
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