Why So Many Old People Are Stupid

[Matty]

by Dyske Suematsu

In Japan, seniority is a big deal. If someone is even a few years older, you are supposed to address him respectfully. That never jived with me when I was living in Japan. Do we automatically become respectable as we get older? I didn’t think so, but whenever I mentioned this to adults, they would always tell me that I would understand it someday when I too am older. Well, I’m older now (37), and I can tell you that so far I haven’t been proven wrong. I am beginning to be convinced that those adults were full of it.

Have you ever wondered why so many senior citizens are so stupid? Have you ever wondered why most people cannot relate to their parents when describing what they do in their lives? People often say, “But my parents would never understand that.” This becomes especially problematic when the topics are highly cultural like arts, philosophy, and science. If you think about it logically, why should this be true? If your father is 60 years old and if you are 30, then you would think he would be twice as wise and knowledgeable than you are, but this is rarely the case. Even if I am not qualified to judge people older than I am, I can tell you that among the people of my own age, some of them are already getting dumber than they were before.

The most common explanation to that is that, as you get older, it becomes harder to learn new things. Well, nice excuse. Even though it is very rare, you do meet seniors who are literally twice as wise and knowledgeable. For instance, I had personally known John Cage the composer, and it was quite clear, his mind was far superior to mine. I have met or corresponded with several others too, and they are usually people who pursue something other than their jobs.

This means that while some people progressively get wiser and more knowledgeable, the vast majority of others get progressively dumber. The gap between them must be huge. For those who kept improving themselves, the rest of the people of their own age must appear completely foreign to them, like talking to teenagers. So, why does this happen? And, when does this start happening? I think it starts happening in our 30s. Why it happens is a more complicated story.

In our 20s, we are all idealistic. There is nothing wrong with idealism, except that, in our 20s, we are idealistic and naive at the same time. In other words, our heads are running far ahead of our emotions. We can deal well with logical problems in our lives, but more complex emotional problems are beyond our capacities. This starts to flip in our 30s. As we start to lose our logical capacities, our emotions continue to mature, but the problem is that emotional maturity devoid of logical intelligence is no better than having a big head and a small heart. On top of losing logical capacities, we also lose physical capacities too; so the odds are against us. Furthermore, if you have a problem with substance abuse like alcoholism, it hinders even your emotional maturity. So, all three components start to deteriorate. If you keep going in that direction for 30 years, the result is an utterly dumb, boring senior citizen.

In order to prevent this from happening, we must make a conscious effort to keep our minds and bodies in best shape possible. Our emotions will keep on maturing as long as we face our lives courageously. Even though our logical and physical capacities are decreasing, as we get wiser, we become much more efficient in learning. We no longer make obvious mistakes, and nothing we learn is entirely new. Our knowledge from other areas can expedite our learning process. These advantages can easily make up for the disadvantages, and it becomes possible to actually be twice as wise and knowledgeable as a 30 year old when we turn 60.

When I was a 7th grader, my math teacher answered an obvious but difficult question: Why do we have to study things like geometry, algebra, and trigonometry, if we are never going to use them in our adult lives? He said it is because we haven’t used those parts of our brains. The same parts can do wonderful things other than geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. With this short explanation, he utterly convinced me the importance of studying math, and of any other subjects for that matter.

The same logic still applies in our old age. Any connections in our brains left unused will eventually fall apart. Seemingly unrelated and irrelevant subjects like calculus could reinforce these unused connections. The science shows that the connections we frequently use can stay strong all our lives, and the aspects of our intelligence that use those parts of our brains could stay razor-sharp even in our old age.

But all this still does not explain why some choose to improve themselves and others to let it all go down hill. I actually have no answer for that. All I can tell you is that, in our 30s, we all seem to come to some conclusions about what life is. Having reached our physical and logical heights of our lives in our late 20s, we can now see the entire mountain in perspective. We can even see the other side of that mountain (senior citizens’ homes in Florida). This understanding of life is unspeakable and different for everyone. Some then decide that life is about comfort. They strive only to have a good life, eat good food, travel to exotic places, have a happy relationship, live in a comfortable house, have healthy kids, enjoy entertainment, etc.. They maintain only the parts of their brains that are necessary to maintain or increase their comfort levels, mainly the skills required for their jobs.

Others decide that there is more to life than being comfortable. They realize that a higher understanding of life is always possible, that there is in fact more to that mountain than what we see in perspective. The meaning of life, for these people, becomes sheer curiosity about life. I already see people around me splitting into these two separate paths. The longer the time passes, the more difficult it becomes to relate to those who took the other path, but we meet more new people along the way, who happen to come across your path from entirely different direction.

Now I see why those adults insisted that older people are respectable. Being concerned only with comfort, they just gave me an answer that would make them more comfortable.

[ikke]

So that's why everybody starts to get married around that age.

But seriously, I always thought the cause was the lack of education of the previous generation in comparison to the next generation but the argument about how if we don't use certain parts in our brain they will decline in power really makes sense.
Not saying I'm dismissing my belief, I'm saying their both right.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.

[Matty]

So that's why everybody starts to get married around that age.

But seriously, I always thought the cause was the lack of education of the previous generation in comparison to the next generation but the argument about how if we don't use certain parts in our brain they will decline in power really makes sense.
Not saying I'm dismissing my belief, I'm saying their both right.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.

np. its been something i've been pondering a lot recently. in particular, why aren't older people in general that much more knowledgable, wiser and on the ball than us young'uns. they certainly could be, or should be. conclusion - stupidity in earlier years just gets amplified and exaggerated if you don't make an active effort to better yourself and stay sharp in the long run. old people aren't stupid because they are old, they're stupid because they let themselves become stupid or were just stupid in the first place.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

Matty, +1, EXCELLENT article.  

I've tried to live my life in a state of continuous growth, the path that the author has advocated for in this article.  I want to share my personal story as it relates to this article...

...In the article the author says growth and maturity stops at 30 for many people, but I would argue that I noticed a change much earlier, I noticed it right when I started high school.  

When I was in Jr. High life was always fresh, new, and exciting.  The kids a hung out with, kids in the neighborhood and at school, were always open and pushing for new ideas and creativity.  From our relationships with girls, friends, music we listened to, things we did, places we went.  Everybody was growing and maturing in exciting ways it seemed.  Whenever life got boring I could just look around and find something fresh and new out there.  It was still cool at that time to be unique.  

Then suddenly, when I reached high school and age 15 came, everything had turned on it's head, and immediately I felt uncomfortable and hated my new life.  Conformity and comfort suddenly became fashionable.  It became a huge negative in society to seek growth and maturity, or to push for new idea's and paths.  

This only got worse as I got older, as the article indicates.  My first time getting drunk was when I was 15.  I remember my friends and I would brag about drinking on the weekends, and things we did that went along with it; and it was a cool thing for a moment.  But then, I looked at guys in their 20's, and noticed they were bragging about the exact same thing, then I looked at people in their 30's and they were bragging about doing the exact same thing, and in their 40's people were into the exact same thing, and on and on.  Till I got out of highschool and the kids I grew up with were actually going to bars and hanging out with each others parents and coaches and there was really no difference in the growth, maturity, and intelligence of the 20 year old and the 30, 40, and 50 year old.

For me, I always saw life as a continuous growth process.  The things you are interested and excited about should always move forward in a continuous progression of your personal evolution.  You should always be smarter next year then the year before, you should always be wiser, finding new interests and pursuits, and so on.

I'm not saying that if you find something good you shouldn't stick with it.  You should always follow your passion.  But in following your passion there should be continuous growth in it.  

For example, you could take an artist like Eminem and I seriously loved seeing his growth from Infinite album, to SSLP, to MMLP, to Eminem Show and on into 8 Mile.  And then suddenly... it was like the dude stopped growing and on RELAPSE he became a child again.  It was very disappointing.  I just use that as an example so people can understand where I'm coming from.

[Javier]

That article is a bit unfair.  We have moved towards a more post-modern society, today's old people are definitely not the same as 1920s old people.  When we're that age, it will be very different.  It's been easier to "exercise" your mind these days because there are a ton of resources out there.  Sure, some might be bullshit but at least your mind is working.  Plus, time is a huge factor in "exercising" your mind.  You have people that work every day in a hard working job, when they get home they just want to relax because they're simply just providing for the family.  They're worried about paying the bills. They're worried about their kids.  There isn't any time to be keeping your mind fresh. 

[ikke]

Matty, +1, EXCELLENT article.  

I've tried to live my life in a state of continuous growth, the path that the author has advocated for in this article.  I want to share my personal story as it relates to this article...

...In the article the author says growth and maturity stops at 30 for many people, but I would argue that I noticed a change much earlier, I noticed it right when I started high school.  

When I was in Jr. High life was always fresh, new, and exciting.  The kids a hung out with, kids in the neighborhood and at school, were always open and pushing for new ideas and creativity.  From our relationships with girls, friends, music we listened to, things we did, places we went.  Everybody was growing and maturing in exciting ways it seemed.  Whenever life got boring I could just look around and find something fresh and new out there.  It was still cool at that time to be unique.  

Then suddenly, when I reached high school and age 15 came, everything had turned on it's head, and immediately I felt uncomfortable and hated my new life.  Conformity and comfort suddenly became fashionable.  It became a huge negative in society to seek growth and maturity, or to push for new idea's and paths.  

This only got worse as I got older, as the article indicates.  My first time getting drunk was when I was 15.  I remember my friends and I would brag about drinking on the weekends, and things we did that went along with it; and it was a cool thing for a moment.  But then, I looked at guys in their 20's, and noticed they were bragging about the exact same thing, then I looked at people in their 30's and they were bragging about doing the exact same thing, and in their 40's people were into the exact same thing, and on and on.  Till I got out of highschool and the kids I grew up with were actually going to bars and hanging out with each others parents and coaches and there was really no difference in the growth, maturity, and intelligence of the 20 ye


ar old and the 30, 40, and 50 year old.

For me, I always saw life as a continuous growth process.  The things you are interested and excited about should always move forward in a continuous progression of your personal evolution.  You should always be smarter next year then the year before, you should always be wiser, finding new interests and pursuits, and so on.

I'm not saying that if you find something good you shouldn't stick with it.  You should always follow your passion.  But in following your passion there should be continuous growth in it.  

For example, you could take an artist like Eminem and I seriously loved seeing his growth from Infinite album, to SSLP, to MMLP, to Eminem Show and on into 8 Mile.  And then suddenly... it was like the dude stopped growing and on RELAPSE he became a child again.  It was very disappointing.  I just use that as an example so people can understand where I'm coming from.

Can you teach me how to make those long ass posts saying something that could fit into 1 or 2 sentences?
No Offence.

On Topic:
You say it starts earlier because you see people from allot of age groups bragging about the same immature activities.
In your teens you develop your individuality, the difference between people becomes more obvious therefore you talk about subjects the others can relate to.

[virtuoso]

In my opinion it's because as the writer states in the 20's people are brimming with enthusiasm and idealism. When someone hits their 30's though, that idealistic energy which has driven their beliefs, their outlook, their person, has waned as they become increasingly cynical about the world around them and fall victim to a state of apathy. The apathy sees them lose the will to strive for more, whether in life, or in knowledge and instead become somewhat immersed and malaised with base level things which although have no real consequence to them, it's an outlet of sorts for their mind. Unfortunately though when forego this learning, their senses, critical thinking and just general mindstate becomes very rigid and their mind becomes much more vegetative, because if you don't use it, you lose it. I guess the big challenge is to battle against this social trapping but of course as far as marriage is concerned, it becomes a social norm, having kids, is a social norm and with that comes responsibilities and to an extent these will alter someones outlook on life.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Really? This doesn't make sense at all because kids are way more ignorant than adults

[Fraxxx]

My overall impression is that most people are stupid or ignorant in many ways and can be lovable and understanding in many others. But regarding the stupidity, I see it with young and old in equal proportions.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

Can you teach me how to make those long ass posts saying something that could fit into 1 or 2 sentences?
No Offence.

I was explaining the process of how I had came to the same conclusion as the author of the article.  I don't think my explanation was too long.

On Topic:
You say it starts earlier because you see people from allot of age groups bragging about the same immature activities.
In your teens you develop your individuality, the difference between people becomes more obvious therefore you talk about subjects the others can relate to.

I don't think that it is a matter of just talking about common activities to relate to one another.  I understand the use of that.  There's a lot of people I talk with about sports because it's hard to relate to them on any other subjects.  So I know drinking alcohol, for example, is a common past time a lot of people can relate to at different ages.

But it's more than that.  You can see the expression on a person's face change as they get older.  They slowly become less open, set in their ways, and it is very difficult for them to continue to receive new idea's without becoming anxious.  They do become less intelligent, and often more immature.  I mean, look at the phenomenon of television shows with the father or adult male figure acting like a child all the time.  That show "Jim", "Kings of Queens", "Simpsons", "Family Guy", Tim Allen's characters, Adam Sandlers characters, I could go on and on... it's became a cultural phenomenon in America especially. 

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

In my opinion it's because as the writer states in the 20's people are brimming with enthusiasm and idealism. When someone hits their 30's though, that idealistic energy which has driven their beliefs, their outlook, their person, has waned as they become increasingly cynical about the world around them and fall victim to a state of apathy. The apathy sees them lose the will to strive for more, whether in life, or in knowledge and instead become somewhat immersed and malaised with base level things which although have no real consequence to them, it's an outlet of sorts for their mind. Unfortunately though when forego this learning, their senses, critical thinking and just general mindstate becomes very rigid and their mind becomes much more vegetative, because if you don't use it, you lose it. I guess the big challenge is to battle against this social trapping but of course as far as marriage is concerned, it becomes a social norm, having kids, is a social norm and with that comes responsibilities and to an extent these will alter someones outlook on life.

That's a good explanation of what happens for a lot of people as they age.  It's also a part of the cognitive dissonance theory, where people shut down and eventually stop allowing any contradictory information into their system; while in youth we may still be in a process of building our identity.  However, I think it would be more healthy to keep up that process of building an identity, because life is always changing around us, and we must continue to learn new things and adapt as new information is always coming in.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Can you teach me how to make those long ass posts saying something that could fit into 1 or 2 sentences?
No Offence.

I was explaining the process of how I had came to the same conclusion as the author of the article.  I don't think my explanation was too long.

On Topic:
You say it starts earlier because you see people from allot of age groups bragging about the same immature activities.
In your teens you develop your individuality, the difference between people becomes more obvious therefore you talk about subjects the others can relate to.

I don't think that it is a matter of just talking about common activities to relate to one another.  I understand the use of that.  There's a lot of people I talk with about sports because it's hard to relate to them on any other subjects.  So I know drinking alcohol, for example, is a common past time a lot of people can relate to at different ages.

But it's more than that.  You can see the expression on a person's face change as they get older.  They slowly become less open, set in their ways, and it is very difficult for them to continue to receive new idea's without becoming anxious.  They do become less intelligent, and often more immature.  I mean, look at the phenomenon of television shows with the father or adult male figure acting like a child all the time.  That show "Jim", "Kings of Queens", "Simpsons", "Family Guy", Tim Allen's characters, Adam Sandlers characters, I could go on and on... it's became a cultural phenomenon in America especially.  

lol....tv shows don't reflect reality. Most fathers aren't retards, and if they are I suspect they started out as such. Fyi, fat, stupid guys don't usually pull the hot chicks either. Your Eminem example doesn't make sense either. An album doesn't reflect a rapper's personality either, it reflects what they believe will appeal to their audience at the time.

I'll agree on the point that people become more set in their ways....but that's because they have a lot more knowledge than younger people. They've spent an entire lifetime learning things a certain way and you expect them to suddenly change because you say something different? Younger people may have a greater capacity for learning, but that's because they are more ignorant and know less to begin with.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

lol....tv shows don't reflect reality. Most fathers aren't retards, and if they are I suspect they started out as such. Fyi, fat, stupid guys don't usually pull the hot chicks either. Your Eminem example doesn't make sense either. An album doesn't reflect a rapper's personality either, it reflects what they believe will appeal to their audience at the time.

I'm not saying he's supposed to start rapping with a higher vocabulary or start playing a fucking guitar like CheesyWeezy or something like that.  The point I was making is that a person can show growth and maturity not just by changing from one thing to another thing, but also from following the same path or passion and developing and furthering themselves in that area.  AND BY THE WAY EMINEM JUST CONFIRMED WHAT I'M SAYING IF YOU LISTEN TO HIS LEAD SINGLE "NOT AFRAID" HE ADMITS RELAPSE WAS A STEP BACK AND THAT IT WAS "EH".

I'll agree on the point that people become more set in their ways....but that's because they have a lot more knowledge than younger people. They've spent an entire lifetime learning things a certain way and you expect them to suddenly change because you say something different? Younger people may have a greater capacity for learning, but that's because they are more ignorant and know less to begin with.

No, I don't expect them to suddenly change, if something is working for them, they should keep doing it.  However, I don't expect adults to show as much apathy as they do, and get that glossed over anxious look anytime someone says or does something that doesn't fit squarely into their settled ways.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

So that's why everybody starts to get married around that age.

But seriously, I always thought the cause was the lack of education of the previous generation in comparison to the next generation but the argument about how if we don't use certain parts in our brain they will decline in power really makes sense.
Not saying I'm dismissing my belief, I'm saying their both right.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing.

I agree with u. Ive always felt its a combination of the two. As people get older they find ways to make their lives easier and have to use their brains less. When you combine that with the fact that every generation SHOULD be smarter than the last, it makes sense. We will always learn off of the previous generation. You can relate it to sports even. In every generation, the athletes will be better than the previous generation. Even the greats of 40 years ago would be nowhere near as great if they played now. Because current athletes have learned from them, as well as incorporated techniques to improve training, etc.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

lol....tv shows don't reflect reality. Most fathers aren't retards, and if they are I suspect they started out as such. Fyi, fat, stupid guys don't usually pull the hot chicks either. Your Eminem example doesn't make sense either. An album doesn't reflect a rapper's personality either, it reflects what they believe will appeal to their audience at the time.

I'm not saying he's supposed to start rapping with a higher vocabulary or start playing a fucking guitar like CheesyWeezy or something like that.  The point I was making is that a person can show growth and maturity not just by changing from one thing to another thing, but also from following the same path or passion and developing and furthering themselves in that area.  AND BY THE WAY EMINEM JUST CONFIRMED WHAT I'M SAYING IF YOU LISTEN TO HIS LEAD SINGLE "NOT AFRAID" HE ADMITS RELAPSE WAS A STEP BACK AND THAT IT WAS "EH".

You just proved my point. Em made it because he thought people would want that kind of Eminem but they didn't and now he's admitting it. That has zilch to do with his intelligence level or this discussion.

The guy raps about celebrities and killing people, things he doesn't do in his real life. ITS A MARKETING TOOL USED TO SELL RECORDS. It's not a personal reflection on his state of mind or intelligence.