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Democratic Primaries
Showing Original Post only (View all)People in their 70s can struggle with new tasks, research shows [View all]
For people in their mid-70s such as myself, the 2020 presidential campaign is an oddly personal experience. Among the front-runners for the Democratic and Republican nominations are two men our age (Joe Biden, 76, and Bernie Sanders, 77) and another just a few years behind us: Donald Trump, 72, the oldest man ever elected president. If Trump had lost in 2016, Hillary Clinton, at 69, would have been the second-oldest person ever elected.
Is this okay? Can politicians our age be effective presidents?
...Studies of old people conclude that between 16 percent and 23 percent of Americans over 65 experience some form of cognitive impairment. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that these subjects performed worse than others on tasks involving working memory the ability to remember information while manipulating it, as when calculating the tip on a restaurant bill and that theyre more impaired when those tasks become more complex. Older adults also have difficulties with tasks that require dividing or switching attention, like cooking while chatting on the phone. On tests of reasoning, memory and cognitive speed, the average scores for adults in their early 70s were near the 20th percentile of the population, whereas the average performance for adults in their early 20s was near the 75th percentile. A Mayo Clinic study of 161 cognitively normal adults between 62 and 100 years of age showed that declines in learning ability closely track the passage of time. Research has shown that concept formation, abstraction, and mental flexibility decline with age, especially after age 70, as older adults tend to think more concretely than younger adults, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who surveyed several studies. I would hope that impaired executive functioning is not the sort of torture Americans want their president to suffer.
...Any given human could function at a high level well into his or her dotage. But these are outliers. The overwhelming majority decline. This happens to different people at different ages, but scientists have established that decline accelerates with advancing age: In a study by the University of Virginia, adults between the ages of 61 and 96 showed a decrease in cognitive speed twice as great as adults under age 60, and a drop-off in memory four times as great. Memory loss causes slowed processing speed, reduced ability to ignore irrelevant information, and decreased use of strategies to improve learning and memory, according to the University of Alabamas meta-study.
More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2019/04/09/feature/research-says-septuagenarians-struggle-with-new-tasks-thats-bad-news-for-several-2020-candidates/
Is this okay? Can politicians our age be effective presidents?
...Studies of old people conclude that between 16 percent and 23 percent of Americans over 65 experience some form of cognitive impairment. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that these subjects performed worse than others on tasks involving working memory the ability to remember information while manipulating it, as when calculating the tip on a restaurant bill and that theyre more impaired when those tasks become more complex. Older adults also have difficulties with tasks that require dividing or switching attention, like cooking while chatting on the phone. On tests of reasoning, memory and cognitive speed, the average scores for adults in their early 70s were near the 20th percentile of the population, whereas the average performance for adults in their early 20s was near the 75th percentile. A Mayo Clinic study of 161 cognitively normal adults between 62 and 100 years of age showed that declines in learning ability closely track the passage of time. Research has shown that concept formation, abstraction, and mental flexibility decline with age, especially after age 70, as older adults tend to think more concretely than younger adults, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who surveyed several studies. I would hope that impaired executive functioning is not the sort of torture Americans want their president to suffer.
...Any given human could function at a high level well into his or her dotage. But these are outliers. The overwhelming majority decline. This happens to different people at different ages, but scientists have established that decline accelerates with advancing age: In a study by the University of Virginia, adults between the ages of 61 and 96 showed a decrease in cognitive speed twice as great as adults under age 60, and a drop-off in memory four times as great. Memory loss causes slowed processing speed, reduced ability to ignore irrelevant information, and decreased use of strategies to improve learning and memory, according to the University of Alabamas meta-study.
More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2019/04/09/feature/research-says-septuagenarians-struggle-with-new-tasks-thats-bad-news-for-several-2020-candidates/
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
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People in their 70s can struggle with new tasks, research shows [View all]
BeyondGeography
Apr 2019
OP
And women are tougher than men. Can you imagine a man dealing with a monthly period?
cwydro
Apr 2019
#41
What's the answer? No presidential candidates over 65? That would give out a terrible signal.
Doodley
Apr 2019
#3
I am always surprised at those complaining about ageism in Presidential elections
KitSileya
Apr 2019
#4
Well, most of us already know that this does happen, that age does affect people...
SWBTATTReg
Apr 2019
#5
It appears that way. I love Joe and Bernie, but I want a younger person in office.
Arkansas Granny
Apr 2019
#23
All I can say is I worked for a blood center registering donors at blood drives. When we went to
brewens
Apr 2019
#26
There is no definite cut off age. It could be 50 when mental capacity starts to decline...
PeeJ52
Apr 2019
#31
Oh, yeah? Well let me tell you younger people------I-------don't------------. Sorry.
Atticus
Apr 2019
#34
Plenty of reasons to find Biden an incredibly unappealing candidate aside from his age.
BlueStater
Apr 2019
#44
Because what could be better than praying for Ginsburg to outlive the Trump presidency?
BeyondGeography
Apr 2019
#54
I'm 69 and I also believe this. Some people are still working at their job, and
Irishxs
Apr 2019
#53
What new arbitrary (unofficial) age limit is then the collective sentiment...?
LanternWaste
Apr 2019
#67