My mother had some college but no degree. She always did a lot of reading and after she retired, she read even more and did crossword puzzles every day. She also watched Jeopardy. Because she had loved learning knew things all her life she could answer more Jeopardy questions than anyone I knew. At her funeral several people told us that she used to be one of the smartest people they knew. It all changed in one day with one minor little surgery. Her short term memory and a large chunk of long term memory, including the fact that she had a grandson she adored that lived next door, were destroyed. With no short term memory she could never learn another thing. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. It got worse and worse over the next 8 1/2 years until her death. Keeping her mind active after retirement didn't seem to do much for her brain. She was only a few years older than my husband is now when her mind was destroyed. She never abused alcohol or drugs and she never smoked, yet her mind was in worse shape than those who had. I sometimes wonder if it would have been better for her if she had spent less time reading and more time exercising since she was overweight and diabetic, two things that I think can contribute to surgery complications.
I have to homeschool my child. I need to keep my mind sharp so I am trying to exercise more and maintain a healthy weight in addition to learning new things every day. I also try not to get too upset about things I can't control. I don't want to have a stroke. Strokes can really speed up that aging process.
I have been wondering if it is possible for a middle aged person to learn calculus.
