Superagers and those opposed

I had to drive into work this morning, so AM Radio it was. 770 KVI is Rush Limbaugh's channel, but before he's on they have a "morning drive" show with two clowns who aren't quite as crazy as most right wing talk show hosts.

This morning, the hosts were talking about the recent article on superagers, people who remain mentally fit and vibrant in their 70s and 80s. It turns out the secret to retaining your brain's faculties as you age is to exercise your brain, hard. Like, for hours on end doing things that suck. The practices that make your brain better and stronger "are not inherently enjoyable."

One of the hosts objected. "Wait, wait, I worked hard my entire life so that I could sit back and retire. So I could hire someone else to do that work. And that's the whole point of working hard, so you can relax!"

The other host said, "Yeah, well, your brain's gonna get thin if you do that."

"But I don't need it anymore! Why do I care?"

That... just seems like such a weird attitude. I mean, I get that now that once you've got age, experience and (presumably) enough money to retire, you don't have to do the scutwork; you don't have to engage in the repetitious, dilatory bullroar work that characterizes most of our current economic life. But that just means you've got the foundation to do more, to move higher, to step outside the comfort zone of your work and teach to others, seek out new modes of expressing what it is to which you've dedicated your life's work, and expand the circle of knowledge and human reach.

Anything else, and you've already declared yourself to be a waste.

Horrifying thought...

While thinking about superaging and how ongoing difficult, discomforting effort is what keeps our brains from deteriorating, I had a horrifying thought. It sometimes seems as if our senators and congressmen in their 60s, 70s and even 80s are surprisingly spry and nimble-minded, for all their ideologies are cast in concrete. Maybe the reason for that vigor is just that being a politician, whether they're meeting with constituents or negotiating with backers, involves being constantly in difficult, and distressing situations far outside anything vaguely resembling the human comfort zone.