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Pastimes : Human Brain, The
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To: koan who wrote (355)1/24/2014 8:37:07 PM
From: Shane M1 Recommendation

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Road Walker

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I'm only 43 years old now, and in many ways I feel I know more than I ever have and I wouldn't trade my mind now for my 29 year old mind. That said I think my mind was more "spry" in my late 20s. It's entirely possible, like the article mentioned, that I just didn't have as much to remember so sifting it wasn't as difficult. Very possible I guess. But I think there are some functional aspects that are not as rapid now as they used to be that are not wisdom-dependent. I'll probably have a better take on things should I live to be 70 :-)

But yes, it's difficult to sort out multitudes of other factors. Lack of use is probably a component because my bet is there are specialized "go to" methods of thought that generally work for many tasks. We may use those at the expense of other methods of thought because through time we've learned how to approach a problem/issue.

One interesting thing I've noticed recently about innovative thinking I'll share in this context. It's something that got me thinking about creative thinking in general. So: My eyesight has been going downhill. I'm at the age where bifocals often become necessary. I wear glasses when I'm driving or need to see far away (15+ ft), but often don't don't wear my glasses because I can see better up close without my glasses than with them. So essentially, things far away are often fuzzy.

In a way, I think blurry vision can enhance creative thought. Because I'm not certain what I'm seeing, it opens the possibilities in my mind. I notice this most strikingly when I misread something - often with comical results. My mind's trying to make sense of what it's seeing, but because it's blurry - it has to work harder - perhaps "more creatively" - to make sense of what it's seeing. I'll often misread something from a distance into a phrase that "makes an odd type of sense", but is not what is actually there - usually brings a smile.
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