Re: [Phys-l] thinking skills (and how to teach thinking skills)

["John M Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

Actually thinking improves with age up to a point.  The ability to do 
quick mental gymnastics decreases, but the ability to use memorized 
knowledge is still there.  With the increase in available knowledge 
"crystallized intelligence" increases.  You can correlate the ideas 
because you have more ideas to draw on.  So theoreticians deteriorate 
quickly, but composers can actually be better and better with age. 
Verdi wrote some of his best works in his old age.  Writers can 
mature with age, and experimentalists can find exciting new things 
with age.  As far as I know there are no definite windows of 
opportunity after age 26.  Incidentally dancers can improve in 
smoothness and style with age, but decrease in spectacular gymnastic 
ability.

As to windows of vulnerability, well they do say there is no fool like 
an old fool.  So ask what am I, a theoretician or an experimentalist?

Gee, only the half century?  I wish I could see that mark again.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> | 
> | The really major increase in brain development is at age 10+ 
> | and if you target improvement of thinking skills at that age, 
> | there is evidence that it has maximal effectiveness.  There 
> | is also a window of opportunity around age 18, and also 
> | possibly one at age 26.  Beyond this there are other windows 
> | of opportunity in elementary school especially in first 
> | grade.  There has been some research which indicates that 
> | targeting thinking skills at the windows of opportunity is 
> | the most effective.  There have been some experiments that 
> | showed that heavy duty coursework should be done then, and 
> | that more life skills (work in the community) should be done 
> | in between those windows.
>
> Are there windows of vulnerability at later ages?  :-)
>
> I'm thinking that hitting the half century mark, I seem to show 
> some.
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