I'm not the only person who thinks they are gradually getting stupider as they get older, am I?

Nope. I was a smart kid. Look at me now.

No, it's true. They're gradually getting stupider as they get older.

Hah! Just you wait! I bet you're a pup. I'm 51, and the brain-cell loss is quite apparent. I wish they would discover the fucking fountain of youth, already. The wrinkles and gray hair I can deal with. Age DOES give you the humor and perspective for that. But I'd like to skip the forgetting-we-had-this-whole-conversation-five-minutes-ago thing. Not that I'm there, yet. But my 88 year old mother is, and she would never have wanted to become a bore. But that's what extreme aging does. It diminishes you and makes you boring. Lousy.

I am 34 and finding that each year I lose a bit of knowledge.

I was a much better conversationalist when I was younger and gave a shit what people thought of me.

I have begun to fart loudly in the grocery store if no one's in the aisle.

I'm 46 and I can't shake the feeling that I may not have a good a memory as I used to have, I still think I'm smarter than when I was 36.

Do you smoke pot?

I find that I get way more of a memory loss from pot than I did when I was younger.

memory going, judgment approaching infallibility (very slowly).

I am getting slightly smarter.

Things making me feel smarter: increasing proximity and availability of internet. Things making me feel stupider: since leaving college, no pressure to properly learn or retain info. Just reading about stuff on the internet ain't enough - you gotta use it or lose it.

xpost no.

i bloody well are.

I do, yes. Hopefully this can be reversed though.

waht is your plan for that

Yes. I think my ability to write (and to spell) has suffered greatly from not having classes or outlets where I have to write regularly. I've tried blogging but if I don't get things out exactly as I want them to be, I lose interest.

Hoping this is a skill that I re-learn quickly when I go back to school.

lol, nick is going to be dumb

I feel the same as Milo, so I'm really going to try to write daily when this year gets started in hope that just doing it informally but regularly will help.

I also feel like I'm getting less interesting as I get older - I have done and am doing way more interesting things already, but my thoughts themselves are getting slower and stupider. Uh oh.

waht is your plan for that

There is evidence that you can exercise your brain and perhaps build new synapses through learning new things. Also healthy living (less toxins, better food, exercise) is only going to help your cognitive functioning. I try to learn new things (currently taking a math class at a level I've never studied) and am trying to watch less tv and instead spend more time reading/writing.

y fite it

you gotta use it or lose it.

yes, hence: pub quiz.

All good plans. I'm highly sceptical of simplistic things like Nintendo DS brain training though. Play trivial little videogames to improve your skills at... playing trivial little videogames! Like any other videogame I don't think there's much crossover there. However it is a genius piece of marketing. xxxpost

y fite it

Because being stupid is depressing.

and inevitable.

"stupider" depends on where you started

?

No it doesn't?

Whether you're a genius or a moron, if you're getting stupider, you're getting stupider. It's about the journey, not the destination.

lol kenan is old

http://www.hollowearth.org/100/051.jpg

http://www.bassharp.com/photo10.JPG

I used to be smart, now I'm just stoopid.

I used to be a little sponge, now I can't retain shit. Either alcohol (& other) abuse or all that painting/ stripping I did during high school/ college for extra $$ in places that could've been better ventilated.

Those strip clubs really do get stuffy.

That'll cost you extra.

what can a poor boy do, 'cept for strip in hunk-a-mania male revue?

sounds like an Andrew Dice Clay nursery rhyme

Now that I'm back in school I feel like I'm using my brane much better and am in fact getting smarter.

Also I feel more boring. I can barely hold a conversation with people, because the things I'm interested in seem miles from what they're interested in. But it's all right.

I like to think that your brain just specializes and streamlines as you get older. There's a trade-off there though. For every new trick you learn you lose an old one, sometimes not exactly the one you would've chosen to.

ie be careful with that auto repair manual if'n you intend to remember your girlfriend's birthday etc

like the time i took a wine making course and forgot how to drive

^ plagiarized from the simpsons ^

oh, colour *me* disappointed then

Math grad school robbed me of my memory.

At best, I'm wiser now, but certainly no smarter.

even looking at that picture from magnolia makes me feel like i should be getting weepy. that part makes me cry every time. so sad!

http://www.nintendo.com/mediaFiles/W-wwJqyFjWWvLPVdvOWIs_H2H6S4RcN7.jpg

This inspiring game told me I have the wisdom and experience of an 86 year old! I haven't even started having hot flashes.

you must have an old soul.

I wish it was only "gradually".