Question for those above 30: Does it become harder to learn new skills?

[NoSelfSelf]

3 minutes ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

Thank you for your thoughts here.

I counter this with: it is not possible to know what @Davino bases his decisions and actions on.

This thread is simply a request for anecdotal data.

We do know, or comprehend, what actions he may take from now.

He could be disregarding all data given here.

We will never know.

I respect the question he has asked. Through it he has acknowledged there are beings who have more lived experience due to age. This implies no authority from anyone older, just an acknowledgement there is some useful information others may have due to age.

I digress...

 

Well its not 100% accurate nothing is but 9/10 the way someone speaks exposes their mindset and based on that mindset i can see where they are mentally, where they are mentally that's how their decisions gonna be and that's the life they live.

So from their perceptions,how one forms the queastions,sometimes the information they valauntereed exposes it.

 

 

[Jacob Morres]

11 hours ago, Davino said:

Thanks for your perspectives. I'm really taking each one of them into account. I feel like the more I age the more mature and stable I'll become but some mind flexibility may be at risk too. There are obvious physical performance declines, as seen in elite athletes, so I wonder how it works with the mind. Most groundbreaking discoveries in science are made by individuals before 30, although each field is a world and some favour experience over creativity and mental gimnastics.

Another thing I thought of was that there many factors that contribute, outside of just your age. Things like age, prior foundation, self esteem, mindset, strategy, mental and physical health foundations, # of responsibilities etc.

So while I do think age is a factor, if you optimize other areas you can still make extremely significant progress in building skills. I don't think it's as big of an issue if the rest is optimized well 

Also consider that while elite performers do experience declines, consider that when they decline their skill efficacy may be moving from maybe the top .00001% -> .001% over 10 years 

 

Edited December 7 by Jacob Morres

[woohoo123]

The ability and speed at which you learn… I’m not sure if it’s so different. If anything it might be easier now with technology and chatgpt. Before you had to go to the library and crack open books, now you get it all assimilated for you. 

but I would say my motivation has changed. When I was in my early 20’s it was almost expected for me to dip my toes into various things. I had a lot of time to try stuff. Also I was more in the mindset of ‘building’ for survival so I didn’t mind grinding and pushing myself as much.

Now I’m 30 I have less time to learn new things, particularly because I’ve got a full time job and other responsibilities that come first and I have to fit any new learning around that - which means I have less time.

This also means I’m way more picky what I spend my time doing. I am unable to ‘force’ myself to do things as well, because I have a stable income now whereas before I had nothing. 

For example I look at the math and coding excercises I used to grind in my 20’s. Back then it was exciting as I could tell myself I’m getting better and can compete better. Now my survival needs haven’t gone away, but I really struggle to force myself to do that again - I’m like why am I forcing myself to do this? I don’t even like it. It’s really hard for me to even do 10 minutes, whereas before I would do it for hours. I look at new qualifications I could get, in my 20’s I would’ve gobbled those up just to get an advantage, now I’m like…. Why force myself to do this? 

so in that sense I learn ‘less’ and am less willing to try out new things unless they really capture my attention. Less breadth and more depth I guess.

[BlueOak]

I am 44. I agree you can slowly make the workspace, those you interact with, and your mind more stable. There are a lot of pros to getting older, you are more used to and comfortable with how you work, and your mind has expanded if you've taken the time to do so and kept it open. I notice a lot of anxiety in those younger than me or at least more uncertainty within themselves, if you've worked through that it no longer plagues you nearly as much. You can learn things like failure is just a teacher, etc rather than a jailor.

For me, it's the other variables we pick up along the way.

Injuries that harm exercise or create a lack of exercise take you out of peak performance. Right now I am skipping running today because I got 4 hours sleep.
Dietary issues cause other body issues, or just general illnesses and considerations you pick up along the way.
Sleeping difficulties are more prominent. I've realised how many people have them after dealing with insomnia again for another two months.
Mounting stress due to things like family issues, deaths, illness, kids, and heavier workloads.
More financial obligations often make changing course in thinking or life more difficult.
Greater contrast between your reality and the younger global collective.
Loss of people that help frame reality in the way you are accustomed to operating in. Yes, you can always just watch or interact with the next person, but there is a certain random chance at finding another connection irl or even online that fills that void, and of course grief or reflection on what was.

To name a few, I am tired again, so the brain isn't working at full capacity, but that's my point.

Unless you contemplate the difference, you can accept the reality you are currently in as being as fast as you were when you were 20, but it is not. I talk too quickly for most people, but I realise I am operating in a dull mental space again due to fatigue. I also realise I resist a lot of new patterns that I am not accustomed to, but I catch this and take a day to think about them.

Edited December 11 by BlueOak

[ChrisZoZo]

@Davino 28 here you learn where you fail. So then taking on a hard task you don’t fall for the traps that you would normally. 

[Juan]

On 12/7/2024 at 9:12 AM, Davino said:

Please don't answer me, I don't like your passive aggresiveness, subtle superiority aura and pseudotruthful debunking tactics

I’m glad I’m not the only one noticing this…who made him a mod? @Leo Gura

[M A J I]

Only if you believe it so, it is better to realize your own truth of reality rather than adopt outside information as much, which only limits you.

 

[Davino]

On 8/12/2024 at 0:01 AM, Jacob Morres said:

Another thing I thought of was that there many factors that contribute, outside of just your age. Things like age, prior foundation, self esteem, mindset, strategy, mental and physical health foundations, # of responsibilities etc.

So while I do think age is a factor, if you optimize other areas you can still make extremely significant progress in building skills. I don't think it's as big of an issue if the rest is optimized well 

Yes, that's an important factor to weight, not the if but the when. That one declines over time is a basic observable fact, when a significant chunk of your capabilities will reduce to a threshold is more tricky to tackle.

The point is I want to allocate many skills in my life and I'm unsure to when do it. I want to keep on studying different degrees as I become older in those areas where self-education is not possible as well as learning to play the piano and many others. Obviously not all decisions have the same importance and survival function but nevertheless are to be taken.

Let's say I've taken the decisions to play the piano but I don't know when to do it. If I know my conditions will be fine I can postpone it up until my forties where all my survival activities and dreams will be consolidated. However, if I get to understand that by that time it will be substantially more tedious, maybe I start in five years doing just one class every two weeks or something like that. So that's a concrete example of the contemplation at hand and the reason of being for this thread.

[Davino]

@woohoo123 So have you noticed a reduction in your ambition?

So it's easier to deepen what you've already built skills upon but harder to enter new domains and grind through the resistance, right?

This is helpful thanks

[Davino]

@BlueOak That was very very good. What I could infere that surprised me is the tendency towards rigidity of mind, like it's not as flexible to adapt, learn and thrive due to biophysical constrictions as well as socioeconomical restrictions, right?

[Davino]

On 11/12/2024 at 6:23 PM, ChrisZoZo said:

you learn where you fail. So then taking on a hard task you don’t fall for the traps that you would normally. 

Perhaps experience is the biggest asset of the aged mind

[Davino]

4 hours ago, Juan said:

I’m glad I’m not the only one noticing this…who made him a mod? @Leo Gura

I think he's the bad cop mod of the forum, we also need those, but I ain't tolerating bullshit against my persona

[Leo Gura]

If you did a bunch of consciousness work then your ability to learn new domains should skyrocket.

Motivation and energy might decrease though.

[Davino]

38 minutes ago, M A J I said:

Only if you believe it so, it is better to realize your own truth of reality rather than adopt outside information as much, which only limits you.

My grandma at 90 is so lucid and healthy, yet there is no doubt how much regress in her faculties has happened despite her wisdom and life experience.

This thread is just about observable facts, for me and for many people, which is why studies and contemplations of this kind proliferate in the first place.

[bazera]

@Leo Gura

Quote

If you did a bunch of consciousness work 

What do you call consciousness work these days? Same thing as Ralston calls? Because the term "consciousness work", I've mostly heard from you and him.

So, basically, meditation, yoga, contemplation, psychedelics?

[Leo Gura]

2 minutes ago, bazera said:

@Leo Gura

What do you call consciousness work these days? Same thing as Ralston calls? Because the term "consciousness work", I've mostly heard from you and him.

So, basically, meditation, yoga, contemplation, psychedelics?

I mean the contemplation of all the stuff I talk about in the videos and having existential insights.

Edited 22 hours ago by Leo Gura

[Davino]

2 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

If you did a bunch of consciousness work then your ability to learn new domains should skyrocket.

My understanding and experience as for now is that Consciousness has a profound impact in all the activities I do and decide to learn, yet I don't want to delude myself thinking this will remain the case as time goes on. So could I stay confident that my consciousness work will still stay present as I get older?

This is an axiomatic point that would have an impact in my decision-making.

11 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Motivation and energy might decrease though.

@Leo Gura That's why, as one ages, it might be necessary to take bold decisions in order to force yourself out of stagnation; if one cares to grow beyond its comfort zone in the way it did in the good old days of youth

[M A J I]

2 hours ago, Davino said:

My grandma at 90 is so lucid and healthy, yet there is no doubt how much regress in her faculties has happened despite her wisdom and life experience.

This thread is just about observable facts, for me and for many people, which is why studies and contemplations of this kind proliferate in the first place.

Most people age prematurely and do not live optimal lives. They eat non-ideal foods and live in non-ideal environments. The average elder today looks old because they have aged prematurely, we are not meant to look old at all, we are meant die looking young and leave our bodies at will.

Meanwhile there are examples of some people who are 80 - 90+ and look and function the same as they did when they were in their 30s and 40s. These people usually take the yogi / hermit path early on and live entirely differently than the rest of the world closer to nature and in tune with the elements and cosmic forces. So they naturally operate at a higher level and become extremely efficient in energy usage, and thus aging does not occur in the same way, they do not adopt the collective belief in it as they adopt higher truths within themselves and live in presence beyond time.

[nerdspeak]

Not especially, but as Leo says, motivation and attraction to novelty rapidly decreases.

In my twenties I’d feel impulses to learn or research new things just for the hell of it, even if not related to my work at all. 

Now, I only learn new stuff directly related to my research or other work projects. Part of that is context and life demands, but some of it is biological for sure. 

[Hardkill]

I can’t speak for those who are 60+ years old, but as someone who is 36 years old, I really haven’t seen any decline in my ability to learn any new kind of skill. 
 

If anything, I feel like in many ways I’ve been able to learn new skills faster. I think it’s because I’ve constantly educated myself and have gained more experience and wisdom as I’ve gotten older.