A recent issue of Discover Magazine featured an article called "Building a better Brain". The pitch below presented the question "Should Everyone be on Ritalin?" For any cognitive worker, this is a very interesting subject. For a software developer in his 40s, this is probably one of the most pointed questions you can ask.
I majored in Anthropology. Not the study of cultural basket weaving techniques, mind you. Not the excavation of ancient cities. I do have an interest in Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology, but I majored in human evolutionary biology. I graduated Suma at UCLA with departmental honors. I was also elected the Golden Key Honor society. I know a little something something about human biology. My expertise will be sufficient for the following treatise.
Human beings were not designed to sit for long hours at a desk solving complex logical and mathematical problems in 3GL and 4GL OOPs code. We were not designed to work with automata, interpreters or compilers. We are designed to engage in nomadic hunting and gathering behaviors in a Pleistocene environment. Homo Sapien Sapien have been roaming the Earth for some 105 thousand years now. Some would say 150 thousand years, but this is a bit outside the pale. It is possible, but not likely. It is only the past 15K years that some of us have been living in cities. It is only in the past 5K years that most of us have had a hand in complex political economies and agriculture. It is only in the past 10-20 years that most of us (in the U.S.) have taken a seat at a desk.
The overwhelming majority of our time on this earth has been spent in several Pleistocene hunting and gathering environments. Our genes, our bodies, our minds have been shaped by a process of natural selection to fit that ancient prehistoric environment. The human animal is ill suited for this new line of work we are now engaged in. This is why good programmers are rare. This is why good programmers are weird people. We are both statistically abnormal, and anomalies within the natural order. This is also why programmers burn out, get stuck on one language or technology, and are unable to keep up with the current flow and progress of technology. It is a miracle when one programmer learns one language and technology. This is why people leave our field at a remarkable rate, and change career paths frequently. This is why programmers have a very difficult job to do. This is why so very few in the power structures of this world comprehend the first rudiments of what we do.
There is another important series of fact which anthropological study confronts us with. There is no evidence to suggest that any average man would ever live past the age of 50 in the EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptedness). A rare and exceptional man might live to the age of 50. Most men would die before that time. Speaking in natural terms, Michael Jackson was not too young to die. He outlived most men who have ever passed through this veil of tears. Truly old men, say 65 or older, were incredibly rare and venerated elders. Very few would ever have seen this age. Women had it worse. Death in child birth was quite common. Death after menopause due to ovarian and uterus problems was probable. A study of the bones teaches that women usually died before the age of 40. Bones of women over 40 are extremely rare. Most female remains discovered by archaeologists belong to women who died before 40. In most cases, we can find no apparent reason why these women died. No signs of violence. No signs of accident. No teeth marks or animal attacks. No signs of extreme infections. They just dropped dead. Forensic examiners are left to speculate about indeterminable organ failures killing these women.
One theory of menopause suggests that women are simply outliving their natural lifespan these days due to modern medical miracles. Women loose fertility around 40 because this is when they were supposed to die in a natural environment. This is the natural lifespan limit of the female body in the EEA. Pleistocene women may rarely have hit menopause. Rather, they simply died before reaching Menopause. If they reached menopause, they most often died shortly afterward due to organ problems that often develop during menopause.
Humans don't learn well as we get older. A lot of evidence in the field of education indicates that most humans stop learning around 40. Old dogs don't learn new tricks. We become hardened and set in our ways. We don't even want to learn new tricks. Once again, it appears that we are pressing against the natural limits of our lifespan. Perhaps we stop learning because we should be dying around this point in the lifespan?
There are other theories about the cessation of learning. A man over the age of 40 would have been a venerated father/grandfather/clan leader. He would be expected to govern and lead conservatively based on his experience in life, not devise entirely new and radical notions about what aught to be done. For complex reasons, it is believed natural selection would favor men like this. He would also be at the end of his natural lifespan. There isn't a lot of need for learning at this point.
With all this in mind, lets talk about today. Humans are living into their 80s. The demographic tables show that we no longer have an age pyramid in our modern industrial and post-industrial societies. There are almost equal numbers of very young humans and very old humans. This is absolutely without precedent in the entire history of our species. Throughout all of human history, there have been many young humans, and very few old ones. One of the most stable and reliable demographic facts about human society is now dead. This age pyramid is a feature of almost every species on the Earth. Many are born, few make it to old age. It is true for snakes, frogs, spiders and sharks also.
One major problem we will very soon be faced with is this: there are not enough young humans to support the lives of the old humans. Soon, one young worker will have to bear the full weight of one retired worker. This is categorically impossible and unworkable. The young worker is having an incredibly difficult time getting by and financing his family as-is. The core concept behind Social Security is now empirically refuted and invalid.
In the future, most of us will never be able to retire. Some may be fortunate enough to slow down. Most will not retire. Current projections by T. Row Price suggest that a guy like me needs to have $5 million USD in good core investments before he can even consider retiring. I don't know how I will ever amass $5 million. How will you? If you already do have $5 million, will it survive the coming bought of hyper-inflation our Federal Government is fomenting? In the future, the retirement figure will be larger that $5 million.
Knowing that I may need to work for the rest of my natural life, how can a 42 year old computer programmer on the cusp of the biggest parallel processing revolution ever seen stay relevant and competitive in this world? How can I learn to use the new languages and technologies necessary to perform this style of programming well in the future? How can I learn to change the entire way I play the game? I need to learn to work all over again. It was a miracle that I ever learned to do this work in the first place. How can I remain a productive and valuable programmer until the age of 84, when I am expected to drop dead? I may only be half done at this point. Perhaps I have only 21 years to go. Perhaps I have only 1 hour to go. The actuarial tables suggest I am half done at this point.
Let's be honest: It may not be possible. I may not be able to stay self-sufficient, productive, independent, or useful. I may become a burden to society and my family. How can I give myself a shot at the title?
Well, for one thing I could loose 77 to 100 pounds. If I did that, I would be in all-around better health. I would sleep better. I would breath better during my sleep. I would probably not have a case of mild sleep apnea and/or narcolepsy. I probably would be able to do without Armadofinil, which my doctor has now prescribed for me. My arthritic knees would love this. I would be able to exercise more. My circulation would be better. This is a wonderful idea, and major steps are underway to ensure this happens... permanently. We shall discuss this subject some other time.
On the other hand, there are other problems of aging that cannot be addressed by weight loss and exercise. Demyelination of the neurological system cannot be stopped through the loss of body fat. Some say aerobic exercise helps, but not per se. As stated, this prescription is wrong. What about the cessation of learning? How will you learn Scala at 42? How will you learn the next thing at 53? What do you do about the preliminary bits of short-term and long term memory loss that naturally accompany aging?
With all of this in mind let us now discuss the subject of Nootropics. This will be the subject of my next blog.
