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The Mature Mind
Book reviews > The Mature Mind
Tradition says that as you get older, you gradually lose your marbles as dottiness and dementia take over from the acuity of younger days. In this cogent book, Gene Cohen, director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University, shows that this is just another myth. Quite the reverse, as we get older we actually get better at thinking. Staying alertSo what about the truth of experience? Why are there so many dotty old folks about? Cohen shows two reasons for this: disease and fitness. First, brain decay is largely related to diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's. Secondly, the rule of the mind is the same as with the body: use it or lose it. If you keep your mind active then it will reward you by staying active and increasing in capability. This is good news, as it means that outside of the chance of illness, by choice you can stay alert and bright to the end of your days. In particular, Cohen identifies five activities to sustain power, clarity and subtlety of mind:
Improved thinkingCohen describes 'developmental intelligence' in terms of three forms of thinking that actually improve with age:
Age stagesTo put all this into a developmental context, Cohen extends and deepens the common final 'old age' stage into four phases:
In summaryThis is one of my favorite kinds of book: one that is rooted in sound academic research (as opposed to the kitchen wisdom of many other books) and which is written for the common person. The result is a readable and authoritative text that is easy to digest and includes many real-life examples. Overall, then, this is a highly-recommended book for those interested in this area. It most definitely changed my mind and I hope it will change yours too.
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Site Menu |
| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings | |
Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories | |
Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help | |
More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes | |
Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate | |
| Home | Top | Menu | Quick Links | |
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