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How to Deal With an Aging Brain?

Posted by timothy on from the swap-in-hans-delbrueck's dept.

An anonymous reader writes "I'm sure this is something all older Slashdotters are aware of: as I get older my once-sharp brain is, well, getting worse. In particular, I'm not able to remember things as well as I once did. As a geek my capacity in this area was always what defined me as a geek. Nowadays things seem to go in OK, but then leak out. A few weeks later I've mostly forgotten. So, I ask Slashdot: how do you cope with your mind getting older? What's your trick? Fish-oil? Brain Training on the DS? Exercise? Or just trying harder to remember things?"

5 of 684 comments (clear)

  1. Or.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Simply take yourself out of situations where it matters ;p

    Seriously though.. where I work a lot of the "older guy's" tend to migrate into roles where they don't need to keep mountains of info bouncing around their head all the time. Roles where people come to them for guidance and advice.. but don't expect them to know the ins and outs of the systems. Let the young guys be the walking encyclopedias while you chill-ax into retirement.

    1. Re:Or.. by theaveng · · Score: 5, Insightful

      +1

      And I'll add a little quote from Albert Einstein: "Why bother to meoorize that which you can look up in a book?" The ability to DO the problem and solve the equations is more important than to remember how many megabits a PCI Express can carry.

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  2. let the computer remember stuff by Punto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The notion that memory == intelligence is just wrong. Just get over it, and let a computer do all the memory for you. Use your brain for what it's uniquely qualified to do.

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    Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!

  3. Other way around for me... by aztektum · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I use to be very anal about remembering every detail. As I've gotten older I'm less concerned with this. I use technology (Outlook calendar/tasks, smartphone, Google Calendar for personal) to remember less and remind me when needed. I only concern myself with concepts and only sweat the details when it comes to actually doing the job.

    I feel far less stressed out than I did when I'd try to remember every little ol' thing simply because I thought I needed to be a pedantic nerd. As a bonus I'm realizing there is more to living contently and I feel I have more time to spend on other things.

    On top of it all I also make sure to leave the damn things at home when I'm going to do something and don't want distractions. Work can pay me 24/7 if they want me to be available 24/7. Otherwise when I'm not at the office I don't really care.

    I do still take the time to know the important things: Birthdays, anniversaries, etc..

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    :: aztek ::
    No sig for you!!
  4. Maybe improve your diet and exercise? by dzelenka · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I bet this suggestion gets ignored completely! This IS Slashdot after all!

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    Bah!