Heed this advice. If there were two words that give prerequisites for achievement, is concentration and focus, imo. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=ConcentrationIsKey>1=27004 As I grow older, I need more caffeine to sustain the level of concentration that was so natural for me in my twenties, and even on caffeine, it is only for brief periods of time I wish someone would invent a medecine that would rebuild myelin sheath: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelin "When I walk, I just walk. When I eat, I just eat." - Zen Master
I appreciate the response, but I am either being unclear, or you are misunderstanding what I am saying. What I am saying is that I am noticing distinct degradation in my capacity to concentrate for extended periods of time. I doubt it is anything I can cure with mental gymnastics. My daily regimen already includes a tremendous amount of that, as I am an avid reader, I program, am a chess player and bridge player, etc. But in all these areas, I see degradation in level of performance. What I am saying is akin to saying that I have an engine and it has 120,000 miles on it, and I expect it to behave as if it had 5000 miles on it. In mathematics and in chess, it is "well known" that you are done with your best work by the age of forty, and it is a fast path downhill from there. I could never understand how that was true. Why should it be? Nah, it won't be true for me. Guess what, the experience is starring me right in the face, and as far as I know, there is nothing i can do about it. The only thing I can think of is to exercise more vigorously, and to change my diet, but even that will probably only bring incremental benefits, and almost certainly only slow down the process. Worth a try though. It is really annoying. The worst by far is, music doesn't sound as rich as it used to. That is not due only to hearing worsening, I am convinced that cognitively I am also not experiencing the same thing I used to.
Isn't that given to people that are depressed or have ADHD? Unless I am mistaken, this is not used to treat normal aging processes, and this medicine is used to treat symptoms that I don't have.
Good article on concentration. ---------------------- Researchers then hooked brain-scanning equipment to two groups of test subjects: seasoned meditators with thousands of hours of experience and novices. With each group, when the meditators seemed to be fully immersed, the researchers set off various distractions nearby -- a blaring TV, a crying baby, a gunshot, stuff like that. ----------------------- I actually participated in an abbreviated version. We had to read a piece of boilerplate (don't recall on what exactly but it was boring as hell). We had to read and the lecturer made loud noises at random times, the point was to stimulate PTSD or ADD and peoples ability to stay focused. You really begin to concentrate on waiting for the next noise rather than what you are reading. Re, getting older and mental stamina and concentration, I just look at it as being a quarter horse, I know my limitations. I can handle myself just find in a sprint. What's the difference if my mile is four 1/4 mile sprints a day? Getting older, I think we can process info faster, decipher it quicker, condense info into neat compartments better than youth with more stamina. (I'm probably in denial)
Getting old huh. Me too. I've begun to calculate how many good cognative years I have left and what I can accomplish or achieve by then. You *can* have a renaissance of sorts... of course others might call it a "mid-life crisis". ...and *no* I don't mean going out to buy a Corvette. Having been bored silly with my job for the last 5 years I've recently decided to pool my experience/ideas on Process Quality Management and Improvement toward creating a database tool to assist in tracking the complexity in my work place and track links between procedure steps and systems. It is quite a daunting venture in an environment where quality either means worshiping the god of Six Sigma or hiring a Management Consultant who, everyone will quickly point out, is obviously more intellegent than me since he is much better educated. I'm learning MS Access and when I have my prototype database complete I'll be able to display business relationships that were previously inscrutible. Now this post isn't about what I'm doing - that's beside the point. The real point is that with age comes a wisdom and insight that all the powers of concentration 20 years ago were unable to focus. You need a change and something to challenge you. Ask yourself this... "If my brain has about 10-15 good years of agility and insight... what will I do with that ability"? Then do it! Hurry! Because after that window closes there's nothing left but Wheel of Fortune. Eric