Knowing what you don't know \ stacker news ~mostly

pull down to refresh

2811 sats \ 14 comments \ @elvismercury 5h mostly_harmless

Thread 1: I've been (slowly) working my way through The Matter with Things which is a masterpiece.

Thread 2: @siggy47 just posted something about how an "elderly" (in the thread, we're wondering what that means exactly) person got scammed of their btc.

I'm increasingly obsessed with the question of how aware we are of our capacities. The book is exhaustive of examples of people with RH brain damage, or severed corpus collossa, doing absolutely bonkers shit. We (the audience) clearly see that they are insane. The fact that they can sit there talking to the researcher, seemingly rationally, while also being insane, is profoundly disturbing. I want to discuss this more another time.

But back to Siggy's post, and my question: do you know older people in your life who are openly and expressively aware of their declining capabilities? Not a general "I'm getting older and having senior moments" way, but in a "I realize that x is beyond my capacity, and that I can't understand it, even though I used to understand it" way, or something with that flavor?

I can't think of anything in my own life. The people I know who should say things like this react to their own diminishment with a combination of obliviousness and anger. They duck the issue, which I always took to be willful, but now wonder if they actually cannot do so, if their declining capacity means that they lack the capacity to comprehend the decline.

Examples would be helpful, if you have any.

view all related items

182 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 5h

"I realize that x is beyond my capacity, and that I can't understand it, even though I used to understand it"

This is terrifying enough that most people wouldn't admit it to themselves. I'm still relatively young and I think about decline a lot, knowing I'm always getting closer than I have been, and I don't like it.

178 sats \ 0 replies \ @quark 3h

I am recently thinking a lot about this decline too specially because I'm seeing it in my own family with rapid decline and it is very sad to see. They don't realize. They make the usual jokes about age and such but I'm sure they are not very aware of the extent of the problem. Even simple problems become huge. And it reminds me that while I still feel great I have only a small number of good years left and that is counting that I would not get any other illness.

Make the most of your youth. It goes fast later.

222 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 5h

When I was a young lawyer I represented my dad on real estate deals. He had been going deaf for years, but refused to acknowledge it. Once we were at a closing when the party on the other side of the transaction took my dad aside and, in a low voice, asked for a concession my father would never grant. Rather than say "I can't hear you" , he smiled and said sure." I had to step in to correct the misunderstanding. It was embarrassing for him, but not embarrassing enough for him to get a hearing aid.

I hope I learned the lesson he never did.

57 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 4h

It is scary.

The cognitive strain of grad school definitely affected my memory, which I jokingly refer to as grad school giving me brain damage.

101 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 4h

My dad is aware that he can’t read and follow mathematical writing and arguments the way he used to be able to.

I don’t know that he’s realized that his cognition has taken a similar turn in most areas.

129 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 5h

I can see the decline in myself in many ways, but I can't remember them all right now- senior memory loss!

One I notice regularly reminds me of the George Carlin quote:

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”

I used to be a fast driver. I drove too fast, got my share of traffic tickets, and was at times a maniac on the road. Now cars zoom past me at what I consider maniacal speed.

101 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 4h

It is very hard for people to accept their diminished state. I think they see it as giving up. I am currently dealing with this issue with my dad but more on the physical side of things than on the mental side you speak of. He refuses to give up the outdoor chores he always handled like mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges etc. We only live 7 minutes away so I told him I am happy to come over and do this stuff, and he can hang out with the kids. He still refuses. If he knows we are coming for a visit, he will complete the chores before we arrive.

Stubborn maybe. In denial maybe. More likely he doesn't want to feel useless.

27 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 4h

all comes down to detailed questioning, in order to know what the people are capable of; one method is a checklist of ADL's (Activities of Daily Living): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470404/

the trick is to make the questioning sound like a casual conversation; "getting old (i.e. in chronological years)" is not a valid excuse - traditionally the older ladies and gentlemen were the wiser members of the tribe; inflation makes our elders consume garbage, unknowingly or ignorantly

36 sats \ 0 replies \ @SilkyNinja 5h

I get the impression it’s good to consider this phenomenon in a nonlinear way - “the cyclops” as an archetype or trope is on my mind, and in Futurama, the pilot of the delivery ship is a cyclopian woman.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BallLightning 4m

Is it beneficial to you to be aware of such thing?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Thisdaystacker 2h

Senility could be a declining factor in Seniors and their inability to even comprehend the fact that they're actually senile makes the whole situation difficult for their caretakers.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 3h

I don't know anything.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Lazy_AMA 3h

Even the author is confused. How would you say "You can't think of anything in your life" as a bitcoiner? Hahahahah 🤣

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Lazy_AMA 3h

That's for fun though, don't take it personal.