Posted on 05/03/2008 9:11:58 PM PDT by neverdem
SAN FRANCISCO — When David Bunnell, a magazine publisher who lives in Berkeley, Calif., went to a FedEx store to send a package a few years ago, he suddenly drew a blank as he was filling out the forms.
“I couldn’t remember my address,” said Mr. Bunnell, 60, with a measure of horror in his voice. “I knew where I lived, and I knew how to get there, but I didn’t know what the address was.”
Mr. Bunnell is among tens of millions of baby boomers who are encountering the signs, by turns amusing and disconcerting, that accompany the decline of the brain’s acuity: a good friend’s name suddenly vanishing from memory; a frantic search for eyeglasses only to find them atop the head; milk taken from the refrigerator then put away in a cupboard.
“It’s probably one of the most frightening aspects of the changes we undergo as we age,” said Nancy Ceridwyn, director of educational initiatives at the American Society on Aging. “Our memories are who we are. And if we lose our memories we lose that groundedness of who we are.”
At the same time, boomers are seizing on a mounting body of evidence that suggests that brains contain more plasticity than previously thought, and many people are taking matters into their own hands, doing brain fitness exercises with the same intensity with which they attack a treadmill.
Decaying brains, or the fear thereof, have inspired a mini-industry of brain health products — not just supplements like coenzyme Q10, ginseng and bacopa, but computer-based fitter-brain products as well.
Nintendo’s $19.99 Brain Age 2, a popular video game of simple math and memory exercises, is one. Posit Science’s $395 computer-based “cognitive behavioral training” exercises are another. MindFit, a $149 software-based program, combines cognitive assessment of more than a...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Bookmarked. Hope I remember to go back and read it, but I rarely do.
yet another activity to fill a slot in my day planner ... ;)
I will confess that I have to look at my business card to remember my tele #. But I just don’t need it enough to commit it to memory.
But I’ve had to so that for many many years. Otherwise, I guess I’m still OK. I remember the wifes B’day and our wedding anniversary date. So that keeps me out of major trouble...:)
That's about all I can remember anymore, but it is the most important, so that's all that matters.
I went back for a PhD at age 48. Brain seems to be working pretty good so far into my mid-50’s - at least at work.
At home it’s a different story. I should probably carry a small notebook around w/me, but I find it more entertaining to stand in the middle of the room and wonder why I’m there.
I remember that when I was younger, I used to chase pretty young girls. Now that I’m more mature, I still do, but not as often - because I can’t remember why I was chasing them in the first place.
Is that what they call “having a Senior moment”, LOL.
;^D
bump for later read
Good idea. I take my brain out for a walk everyday. Of course, I keep it on a leash.
Mark
No need to worry if you've forgotten where you've left your car keys... It's time to worry if you've forgotten what your car keys are for...
Mark
Baloney. As people get older, their brains are more chock full of data, and tend to get over-exercised. That’s why at odd moments they are disconnected from their short-term memory processing abilities. It isn’t exercise they need, it’s daily visits of totally relaxing the brain. Not sleep, not TV, not reading. But just disconnecting from overuse of the brain. In a time past folks would set on the porch and rock for a spell in the evenings. Good medicine. It’s like rebooting your harddrive.
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?
You will forget it
An 80 year old couple were having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them. When they arrived at the doctor’s, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory.
After checking the couple out, the doctor tells them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.
Later that night while watching TV, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asks, “Where are you going?”
He replies, “To the kitchen.”
She asks, “Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?”
He replies, “Sure.”
She then asks him, “Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?”
He says, “No, I can remember that.”
She then says, “Well, I also would like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down cause I know you’ll forget that.”
He says, “I can remember that, you want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.”
She replies, “Well, I also would like whip cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down.”
With irritation in his voice, he says, “I don’t need to write that down, I can remember that.” He then fumes into the kitchen.
After about 20 minutes he returns from the kitchen and hands her a plate of bacon and eggs.
She stares at the plate for a moment and says, “You forgot my toast.”
Decaying brains, or the fear thereof, have inspired a mini-industry of brain health products -- not just supplements like coenzyme Q10, ginseng and bacopa, but computer-based fitter-brain products as well.Yeah, buying snake oil is so much more dignified than accepting some inconveniences of growing older. We wanted greater longevity...
You will forget it!!
It has been several years since I first heard this one, LOL!!
Thanks for posting!!! LOTFL!!!
LOL! I love that song.
Not to brag, but I have a very good memory. I seldom look in the phone book for numbers and when people ask “Do you know ————’s phone number?”, I usually have it stored in my brain.
Several years ago, I was requesting orders for all the people in our section. I was writing all the SSNs, home addresses, and other information on the form. One of the officers came to verify his information.
He asked where I was reading his info from, since there was nothing with personal info on my desk. I pointed to my head, and he replied “You could be a dangerous person with all that in your head.”
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