John Jordan is a freelance writer from Chatham and co-owns a Bed and Breakfast at the family farm.

 

Somehow, I needed proof of my theory. What am I proving? The old saying that went, "We grow too soon old and too late smart." I think it is a German expression. And you know Germans; they are always right. The reason I am driven to make this point is because, like you and the rest of us, we are all getting older and there must be some good coming out of this experience. I have grown to see that older people seem to be that, you know, that, all knowing way about themselves when they are faced with a question or a task. Like when you used to ask the old man to borrow the car and he would say, "And where do you need to be going tonight?" All the while, you knew he would relinquish and hand you the keys but he would add, "Make sure you fill it with gas and don't be late!" Yeah right!

No, the old man knew I didn't have enough cash to fill up the old Nash and he also knew I'd be out late. He just knew it, I tell you. So my quest for proof was answered, at least I thought, by a University study done at McMaster in Hamilton recently. The PhD's theorized, like I am right now that older people appear to be better and faster at grasping the big picture than their younger counterparts.

From a news release on this study, they explained how they used computer-generated stimuli and the researchers monitored how much time subjects needed to process information about the direction in which a set of bars moved. When the bars were small, or when the bars were low in contrast (light gray vs. dark gray), younger subjects took less time to see the direction of motion. But when the bars were large, and high in contrast (black vs. white), older subjects outperformed the younger subjects.

The release goes on to say the results suggest that as we age, the ability of one brain cell to inhibit another is reduced. That sort of inhibition helps young people find an object hidden among clutter, but it can make it hard to tune into the clutter itself. When the young brain sees big, high-contrast bars, it effectively tunes out because there is no object hidden in the bars. But older brains do not inhibit information in the same way, so they do not tune out the bars, and they can actually perform the task better.

So you see, the study was more about eyesight and not as much about smarts. But hey, they are on the right track. In fact, I would challenge them on another of their findings. And that one is, that younger people can find small objects faster than older people. Hogwash! As long as the subject is familiar with the item, I'd say old folks can find things faster. Case in point; I have a strapping young fellow out to the old place to help with things that require two people such as hanging eaves troughs or digging ditches. I have been known to exaggerate but we do a fair bit of digging together. Anyway, I asked him to go get something and do you think he could find it? I may as well be the gopher when it comes to stuff we need for a chore. He'll look, and look and then come back and say he couldn't find it. In fairness, it may have something to do with how cluttered my work bench can get. But still that shows that older people can sort out clutter and find the gold amongst the mess every time.

But I was also wanting someone to prove that older folks can see big picture matters when it comes to decision making. The older we get, the more times we get burned by life, the smarter we get. Scammers and marketers, they are all in the same boat, dream up visions of wealth and happiness and try to let you have some of it for a price. The proverbial offer of '50 acres in Florida,' comes to mind. Sometimes I wonder about some folks. Have they had their head in the sand all their lives? How do they get sucked in by these schemes? Sure, I have heard of more elderly people getting the touch put on them, especially with phone scams but for the most part, if I had a choice and I was a scammer, I'd take a young sucker any day over an old timer.

Which is exactly what the saw means when it says, "too soon foolish." Younger people bring energy, vitality and new ideas to the table. Older people offer the wisdom needed to complete the job and make sure it is done right. Speaking of vitality, I wish I had more of that some days. This seeing the big picture stuff is not all it is cracked up to be. Sometimes a big headache is all you get for processing all the inputs from the big picture. Yet we soldier on, always being amazed at what some people will do trying to outsmart you.

I see this from the verandah quite often. Here comes a young pup, just out of agricultural school, ready to show us all how to farm. He may try jumping in with both feet, spending the long dollar on the newest gadgets and toys but in a few years he starts to figure things out. He learns that there are a lot of other smarter farmers out there getting up earlier than he does and are getting the job done better.

So by the time you get old, you have seen and tried so many ideas that sometimes you actually get to see some of those things come back for a second try. Many of today's conservation tillage techniques and technologies were used back in the days of horses. Remember John Deere and their Max-Emerge patent controversy? Please don't get critical if I don't have the details straight but if I recall, it seemed a Canadian company by the name of Cockshutt used canted press wheels when Mr. Deere was still denying that tractor engines with more than two cylinders wouldn't work. Do you see why I never let facts get in the way of a good story?

So that is my view; I was wondering if others thought the same way. Apparently so. This McMaster study did show that our ability to see large scale situations gets better as we grow older. But then the study also says they proved that the older we get, the less skillful we are at driving. Calling us bad drivers? No, surely they jest. I don't know why they had to throw that zinger in but hey, you know scientists. Not too skillful at burying the truth in a report. Oh well, at least the point is made, "too old smart."

Now who has that 50 acres of swamp in Florida?