By DIANA MARTINEZ
Los Alamos
In regard to James Rickman’s editorial on Joe Biden’s age (link), I wanted to provide a synopsis of what a neuroscientist wrote to the NY Times. Dr. Charan Ranganath, a professor of psychology and neuroscience and the director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis said that everyone begins losing memories and words in their 30s. He said there is “forgetting” and “Forgetting.” The first is when we mis-speak the name of someone like the president of Mexico, and the second is when we don’t remember having met that person. He also spoke to Biden’s stuttering (speech impediment) that becomes more pronounced and slows his speech when he is stressed, but which has nothing to do with cognition.
Dr. Ranganath said that Biden is the same age as Harrison Ford, Paul McCartney and Martin Scorsese; and that he is a bit younger than Jane Fonda (86) and a lot younger than the Berkshire Hathaway C.E.O., Warren Buffett (93), who are considered to be at the top of their professions. Ranganath said he would not be surprised if they are more forgetful and absent-minded than when they were younger. He also said that an individual’s age does not say anything definitive about the person’s cognitive status or where it will head in the near future.
He said he couldn’t speak to the cognitive status of any of the presidential candidates, but rather than focus on candidates’ ages per se, we should consider whether they have the capabilities to do the job. He said, “Memory is surely relevant, but other characteristics, such as knowledge of the relevant facts and emotion regulation — both of which are relatively preserved and might even improve with age — are likely to be of equal or greater importance.” In my opinion, the figurehead can surround oneself with strong, hopefully ethical supporters and cabinet members.
We tend to know our own experiences. I cared for my mom who passed away at 85 recently. She was totally sharp to the end, only dulled in the very last months due to the cancer she had.
I’ve seen a prevalent “ageist” attitude that implies somehow that older people are less, or lacking, and as I live in my early 60s, I can look back and see my own biased opinions in the past, and now that I am standing on the brink of higher aging, how my opinions have changed. Today, I believe we are elevated by the experience of the oldest person in the room, given no brain diseases.
I am thoughtful about the overall health of our elder elected officials, but I am more concerned with their character. We strive and strive in our schools to help protect children’s mental health from bullies, but it seems leaders and other people are allowed to bully, and put down, name-call, and use derogatory terms. I hope we all can be better than that, but maybe it will take our own aging to get us to that point.
Sincerely,
Diana Martinez
