Clipping Board » New Knowledge and the Unknown of Life ─ Life will always bring you surprises and wonders.
China Times 2008.05.24
Chen Youwen / New York Times, May 20
Older people often attribute their inability to remember guests' names at parties to declining intelligence. However, a growing body of research suggests that this assumption is often incorrect.
Studies have found that the aging brain simply absorbs more information and tries to filter through a clutter of data, which can be beneficial in the long run. These findings are analyzed in the new edition of the neuroscience book *Progress in Brain Research*.
The book notes that some people's brains do deteriorate with age. For example, 13% of Americans over 65 suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
However, for most older adults, what happens is a gradual broadening of their focus of attention, making it difficult for them to concentrate on a single thing like a name or phone number. While this can be frustrating, it has practical benefits.
Shelley Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard University, explains that a scattered attention span isn't necessarily a bad thing—it may expand the amount of information available to consciousness.
For instance, researchers asked participants to read a passage with unexpected words or phrases randomly inserted. Adults over 60 read much slower than college students. While the students maintained a consistent reading speed regardless of the inserted words, the older group slowed down significantly when encountering words related to the passage's topic. This suggests they not only noticed the extra information but also processed it.
When both groups were later asked questions with answers potentially found in the inserted words, the older group performed much better than the students.
Lynn Hasher, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, points out that while younger people seem never to have been distracted, older adults, having retained all the extra information, suddenly become adept at problem-solving. They can transfer previously absorbed information to new contexts.
In the real world, this tendency can be highly beneficial. The importance of information in real life isn't always clear. Dr. Hasher notes that a broader attention span may allow older adults to better understand situations and subtle environmental cues, which could be a key reason why older people are often perceived as wiser.
In a 2003 study by Carson and colleagues, students were subjected to intense information bombardment to test their ability to ignore irrelevant data. The results showed that students deemed more creative (based on creativity questionnaires) were worse at filtering out unnecessary information. The conclusion was that reduced filtering and prioritization abilities might actually aid original thinking.
Carson explains that this phenomenon is often linked to reduced activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex. Previous studies have found that individuals with diminished activity in this region due to injury or disease tend to become more interested in pursuing creativity.
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ 2……0504+112008052400485,00. html
Age ≠ Cognitive Decline, More Data Absorption
Chen Youwen / New York Times, May 20
Older people often attribute their inability to remember guests' names at parties to declining intelligence. However, a growing body of research suggests that this assumption is often incorrect.
Studies have found that the aging brain simply absorbs more information and tries to filter through a clutter of data, which can be beneficial in the long run. These findings are analyzed in the new edition of the neuroscience book *Progress in Brain Research*.
The book notes that some people's brains do deteriorate with age. For example, 13% of Americans over 65 suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
However, for most older adults, what happens is a gradual broadening of their focus of attention, making it difficult for them to concentrate on a single thing like a name or phone number. While this can be frustrating, it has practical benefits.
Shelley Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard University, explains that a scattered attention span isn't necessarily a bad thing—it may expand the amount of information available to consciousness.
For instance, researchers asked participants to read a passage with unexpected words or phrases randomly inserted. Adults over 60 read much slower than college students. While the students maintained a consistent reading speed regardless of the inserted words, the older group slowed down significantly when encountering words related to the passage's topic. This suggests they not only noticed the extra information but also processed it.
When both groups were later asked questions with answers potentially found in the inserted words, the older group performed much better than the students.
Lynn Hasher, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, points out that while younger people seem never to have been distracted, older adults, having retained all the extra information, suddenly become adept at problem-solving. They can transfer previously absorbed information to new contexts.
In the real world, this tendency can be highly beneficial. The importance of information in real life isn't always clear. Dr. Hasher notes that a broader attention span may allow older adults to better understand situations and subtle environmental cues, which could be a key reason why older people are often perceived as wiser.
In a 2003 study by Carson and colleagues, students were subjected to intense information bombardment to test their ability to ignore irrelevant data. The results showed that students deemed more creative (based on creativity questionnaires) were worse at filtering out unnecessary information. The conclusion was that reduced filtering and prioritization abilities might actually aid original thinking.
Carson explains that this phenomenon is often linked to reduced activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex. Previous studies have found that individuals with diminished activity in this region due to injury or disease tend to become more interested in pursuing creativity.
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ 2……0504+112008052400485,00. html