By George Sibley
I was glad to see an article recently reporting on a study of mental processes in aging people. It concluded that while older people do think more slowly, it’s not just mental deterioration; it’s at least partially due to the fact that their brains have accumulated a lot more stuff to paw through in responding to anything. This brain load is not “wisdom”; it’s just stuff in boxes and bags all marked “some assembly required.” It can be put together into complex, experience-shaped edifices that will come to be regarded as wisdom if they actually work out as intended. It can also be assembled into complex edifices of monumental and sometimes monstrous folly.