What according to the passage is the impact of stimulation and use of intellectual ability?
There is nothing in the arguments of those who say that old age takes no part in public business. They are like men who would say that a steersman does nothing in sailing a ship, because, while some of the crew are climbing the masts, others hurrying up and down the gangways, others pumping out the bilge water, he sits quietly in the stern holding the tiller. He does not do what young men do; nevertheless he does what is much more important and better. The great affairs of life are not performed by physical strength, or activity, or nimbleness of body, but by deliberation, character, expression of opinion. Of these old age is not only deprived, but, as a rule, has them in a greater degree. . .
It is generally agreed that a number of factors affect achievement in later years and that age is by no means the sole determinant. The first of these is the original level of intelligence. Vernon gives evidence that the rate of decline is slowest among those whose original score was high. There is therefore an accentuation of individual differences.
The second factor is stimulation and use of intellectual ability. A number of studies suggest a slow decline among those who make the greatest use of their intellectual ability and a more rapid decline in intelligence among those who do not. It is also possible that stimulation may have physical consequences for the brain. Evidence from animal studies shows that the weight of cerebral cortex is affected by stimulation from the environment. Evidence was found by Vogt of slower deterioration in brain cells of those whose level of intellectual activity had been high.
Old men retain their intellects well enough, if only they keep their minds active and fully employed. Neither is that the case only with men of high position and great office: it applies equally to private life and peaceful pursuits. Sophocles composed tragedies to extreme old age; and being believed to neglect the care of his property owing to his devotion to his art, his sons brought him into court to get a judicial decision depriving him of the management of his property on the ground of weak intellect – just as in our law it is customary to deprive a paterfamilias of the management of his property if he is squandering it.
A third factor is education and training. Wellford suggests that the manipulative, occupational, mental and social skills acquired through experience help to offset a decline in abilities as a result of the ageing process. Other important factors are state of health and motivation.
Our knowledge of the ageing process is imperfect, but there are a number of important implications for the trainer. Demographic trends indicate the availability of fewer young people in the workforce and an increasing dependence upon the services of older people. By 2006 the number of people aged 35–54 is projected to rise by 2.6 million, and there will be extra 0.9 million people aged over 55. There may have been a time when people of 50 and over were deemed to be unsuitable for job change and retraining but organizations of the future are unlikely to be able to take this view. In fact one supermarket has opened a store staffed entirely by people over 50; there is evidence that employees in their late 40s and early 50s tend to stay with the organization much longer than those in their early 20s, that they lower absenteeism and accident rates, often have greater spirit and reliability, and may already possess useful skills. Fears of difficulties in training should not therefore be used as a barrier of discriminatory factor in recruiting more mature workers.
If people are at their most receptive to learning in youth, and in later years draw upon their attainments, it is essential that the young are given every opportunity to learn. If those with lower cognitive ability are likely to show greater deterioration than those with above average potential, it is extremely important that a broad–based training is given to young people so that through vertical transfer they may find it easier to learn a variety of skills when they are older.
Rigid notions of age and aging limit the mind and imprison the spirit. Like all stereotypes, they evaporate on closer examination. Only by teasing apart the stereotypes can we truly see the individual members of the invisible old and the unheard young. As former vice president Hubert H. Humphrey said, the true test of a society is how it treats those in the dawn of life—its children, and the twilight of life—its elders.