Wrinkles on the Brain:
Towards Wisdom
When I reach my later years I would like to be like my Italian teacher, Father Benjamin Listello. Besides his calm demeanour and his graceful acceptance of his inabilities, what we admired in him was his sharp memory at the age of 87. But one day when I visited him in his room, I discovered his mnemonic device – just a simple things-to-do list that he updated it several times a day! An additional secret was that he always dropped his things-to-do list on the floor near the door, so that he was forced to pick it up and have a look at it.
In popular understanding, one of the signs of ageing is forgetting (and in some cases extreme dementia. Dementia is not just a problem of memory, but a cognitive condition that is marked by difficulties in skills associated with understanding, language and problem solving. This is a very complicated medical condition which is out of scope for our reflections. Let us just talk about forgetting in a simplistic manner). Is forgetting biologically based? Can forgetting be controlled? Can elderly people learn new things? As we say in English, can we teach an old dog new tricks? My opinion is that old dogs may not be taught, but elderly people can surely learn new things.
Memory and Learning in later years
It is estimated that the human brain is made up of about 100 billion (1011) neurons. Unlike other cells, nerve cells do not multiply through lifespan, but we do lose some as we age. But the human brain is also capable of plasticity, that is, the existing neurons can make up to a great extent for the lost ones. Secondly, the complexity of the brain is created by the numerous synapses that are formed by the dendrites of the neurons. It is possible that the human brain can have about 100 trillion (1014) synapses. These synapses are formed as we exercise the brain. The measure of one’s intelligence can be attributed to the complexity of the synapses. And this is largely contributed by the environment and how the individual responds to the environment. The human brain is simply a use-it-or-lose-it organ.
As we age under normal conditions, perhaps because our physical movements are reduced blood circulation to brain could also be affected. Some neurons could actually die. This could have a huge say in the functioning of the brain. However, due to the plasticity of the brain this could be reasonably managed, especially with regular exercise and a healthy diet rich in antioxidants. It is true that many of the illnesses of later years, including those that affect the brain, are genetically programmed. But it is also true that genetic programme can be triggered or inhibited by the environment to which the organism is exposed. In the developed world, being assured of quality of life we are also able to determine our environment to a great extent. Consequently, we can also control the aging of our brain to that extent.
Research on the human brain is growing by the day. And we really do not yet know everything about the brain. However, from cognitive psychology, we do know that human memory is basically influenced by three factors: the strength of stimuli, attractive repetition of stimuli, and motivation. A young man who meets an attractive girl in a party will want to remember her face and even her name. Strong stimulus and motivation are in play here. If you travel by bus and you happen to sit near the same person for three times in a row, you are likely to remember that person. This is due to repetitive exposure. But an elderly person when faced with a new situation or information could be doing a self-talk that goes something like this, “I have survived all these years without knowing this fact, how is it going to be important to me now!” If it is not important to us then we don’t need to remember it.
Besides the lack of blood circulation and motivation, it is possible that ageing itself could contribute to declining cognitive functions: multi-tasking could become more difficult, and the ability to think abstractly decline, as does the ability to maintain concentration over a period of time. But the only way to overcome this is by continued exercise of the brain through learning. As a Canadian University says in its advertisement of courses for senior citizens: “You don’t stop learning when you grow old; you grow old when you stop learning.”
Looked at optimistically, learning process can be quickened in our mature years. Let us look at it this way: human knowledge is cumulative. When we read the first book in a particular field we understand very little. But when we read the second book in that field we grasp more on the basis of the knowledge that we received from the first book. Similarly as we keep reading about the same field our speed of reading also increases. Thus older people, on the basis of their previous knowledge, have better possibility to acquire more knowledge, and at a faster rate. Besides, I do think they also have more time to do so. (I am reminded of Joe Merriman, another priest whom I met here in London. He did some part time courses in computer applications last year. He is now eighty years old.) Therefore every day is school day. And learning is a life-long process. Moreover, beneficial mental activities like reading, doing crossword puzzles and writing journals are not only a way to occupy time, but they are ways to keep our brain sharp and our thoughts focussed. And because our thoughts are focussed we can also handle our emotions better, avoiding occasions for depression, because depression is said to be a product of continuous rumination of negative or traumatic experiences.
On a different plane, increasing longevity of life and expanding body of human knowledge pose a challenge to the present educational system. A policy document of UNESCO (1996) entitled, “Learning: The treasure within – Education in the 21st century,” spoke of four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together. The first pillar is neither learning nor knowing, but learning to know. In other words, the document proposes that most of the time in school be spent in learning methodologies of knowing. Information (or knowledge) is to be offered in school only to establish a baseline and to experiment actually with methods. These methods will then help an individual to begin a journey of lifelong learning. Because the body of human knowledge is fast expanding, 12 to 13 years of school life will not possibly suffice to acquire all the available knowledge. But through specialization and lifelong learning we would be able to handle this situation of expanding knowledge more effectively. With skills in lifelong learning we can also handle the free time of our later years more fruitfully.
Age of Wisdom
Beyond knowledge, later years are also characterised with wisdom. In Swahili, the major language of Eastern Africa, an elderly person is often referred to, in an idiomatic way, as “one who has eaten too much salt”. Perhaps this has some reference to the “pepper and salt” hair so characteristic of the elderly. But it also denotes the richness of experience that someone in the later years of life would have acquired. This wealth of experience is directly related to wisdom (at least in the African culture). A West African proverb confirms this: “an elder seated down can see farther than a young person standing up.”
Some renowned African elders have taken advantage of their wisdom to influence the world. The Global Elders is an independent group that was formed by Nelson Mandela, in July 2007, and now includes 12 eminent people like, Desmund Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and Mary Robinson. They offer their collective influence and wisdom of the ages, as the official website (www.theelders.org) announces, “to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.” They have been actively involved in promoting dialogue on contemporary issues like climate change, HIV/AIDS, Darfur crisis. To me, this initiative is one of those positive achievements of the possibilities of the contemporary means of communication and travel. On the other hand, it is also a very meaningful recognition of the possibilities that the increasing number of prominent elderly people can offer to the world. This initiative offers a sense of hope on what you and I could be busying ourselves with in our mature years. It is a recognition of the wisdom that is associated with old age. But why are later years associated with wisdom? Is wisdom an automatic product of age, or is it a task to be achieved? And how is it achieved?
We look to Erik Erikson (1902-1994) for a possible answer. In an attempt to understand psychosocial development through lifespan, Erikson saw individual human life in eight stages. Each stage is characterised by a specific task of negotiating a tension, or what he called, ‘developmental crisis’. The positive outcome of the fruitful negotiation of the crisis would be a ‘virtue’. Here ‘crisis’ is not to be understood as a tragedy, but as a task of handling a transitional conflict. Individuals move from stage to stage, but may revisit a stage that was not resolved successfully. For Erikson, the eighth stage that is part of later years is marked by a process of life-review whereby individuals revisit old conflicts from a new perspective. There is a tension here between integrity and despair, which is a negative feeling about the past and an inability to do anything given the short future. The positive outcome of resolving this crisis is wisdom. Therefore, according to Erikson, wisdom is a product of integrity. And this can be expanded in three characteristics:
- An acceptance of one’s life and the way it has been lived.
- The abandonment of a self-centred view of life and the movement to a transcendent interest in human kind (altruism).
- An acceptance of the fear of death.
These three aspects of integrity were further developed by a Swedish sociologist, Lars Tornstam, in his concept of ‘gerotranscendence’. We shall leave this for another day. For now let us explore a little further the meaning of wisdom.
We shall turn to positive psychology for a contemporary understanding of wisdom. Positive psychology is a current approach in psychology that focuses on happiness and wellbeing. Positive psychology lists 24 character strengths that contribute to human – individual and collective – wellbeing. One of these character strengths is wisdom, which is also referred to as ‘perspective’. According to this understanding, wisdom is distinct from intelligence, but represents a higher level of knowledge and judgement. Wisdom is closely related to self knowledge, meaning of life, and the use of right judgement in dealing with others. This special type of knowledge is used for the well-being of oneself and others.
There are also several research projects that have examined the correlation between chronological age and wisdom. Findings suggest that wisdom increases sharply during adolescence and early adulthood, then begins to stabilize thereafter (between 25 and 75 years). Peak performance in wisdom is noted in the 50s and 60s. However, wisdom-related performance may begin to decline in old age, around the age of 75. This finding supports the theory of Erikson, that we talked about earlier, that wisdom is not something that automatically comes with increasing age. But it is a task and process that we consciously undertake.
The book of Wisdom (4:8-9) in the Hebrew Scriptures puts it rightly, “Length of days is not what makes age honourable, nor number of years the true measure of life; understanding, this is grey hairs, untarnished life, this is ripe old age.”
(c) Sahaya G. Selvam, December 2009