MY DAD, AND WV PGM JIM FERGUSON, DROVE "COUNTRY ROADS" IN WV TO PERFORM SCHOOLS OF INSTRUCTION. THIS THEY DID UP THRU THEIR 80'S. A MIND WITH MASONRY IN IT IS A WONDERFUL THING.
I rabbit-holed on this for a bit after reading. If you look up the Rush Memory and Aging Project, the research seems to say to the same thing, people who stay engaged in intellectually demanding activities show slower cognitive decline and lower dementia rates, even after controlling for education and other factors. The mechanisms they describe (cognitive reserve, neural plasticity, more efficient frontal networks) all seem to buffer against age related decline.
My wife always says having something to look forward to and plan for on the calendar keeps you moving, and the science backs her up, social engagement and forward looking purpose are protective factors against cognitive impairment. Active Masonic practice seems to hit all of it: the memory work, the retrieval practice through examinations, the symbolic analysis, the structured speaking. Add regular lodge nights and degree work giving you something on the calendar to prepare for, and you've got the perfect mental gym.
>>>My wife always says having something to look forward to and plan for on the calendar >>>keeps you moving
I certainly agree with this, and it is something my own wife and I attempt to include in our own lives. We try to always have things on the calendar that we can look forward to, and find that it keeps us happy knowing that we've got this great thing coming up, sooner or later.
I believe I can live with just about any age-related malady except the loss of my mental facilities. I am counting on active masonry ward off that approaching danger.
I have had my own theories about this for some time. I'm not a scientist or researcher, nor am I a brain specialist.
My theory is this. Engaging in activities that help you learn new things is a good way to "exercise" the brain. A Johns Hopkins study of 10,000 Americans found that dementia had declined between 2000 and 2012 and they attributed the decline to those staying in school longer. That means active engagement in educational activities.
My first real job was in the HVAC/R industry where I installed and maintained air conditioning and refrigeration systems. A trade that requires knowledge in electricity, pipe fitting, plumbing, electronics, mechanical aspects, and some chemistry. A lot of different areas of focus in there.
Later, starting in 2000, I made a switch to full-time IT related work. My last job at Microsoft saw me owning the design and development of curriculum focused on artificial intelligence and cognitive services in computer technology. After Microsoft decided to eliminate my position, I worked an independant consultant in the same field doing teaching and content development.
That work requires you to look at how computers are able to "reason" in the concept of AI. You have to first think about how intelligence is defined and how it works in humans. Our intelligence is gleaned mostly from experiential learning. This is how our minds grow and learn to acquire new knowledge.
For example, if we teach a toddler how to recognize a bicycle through images, they can identify other bicycles that differ in color or size. However, they might also identify a motorcycle as a bicycle due to similar characteristics. We "train" the toddler to be more accurate in their identification by performing what is known as supervised training. We give them many images of bicycles and tell them they are bicycles. Then we show them more images they have never been exposed to and correct them when they identify incorrectly, and reward them when they properly choose the right image.
Believe it or not, supervised training is a method used in computer AI to train models.
But what does that do for the human brain? It creates new neural pathways and connections in the brain. Johns Hopkins believes that these new pathways and the ability to form them is what helps the brain overcome injury or other issues and keeps it functional from a cognitive standpoint.
But, I also try to relive or recall past occurrences to keep my memories fresh and to "reanimate" those other neural pathways. I don't want to lose those pathways that are already established.
Masonry helps with this as well as I memorize the degree lectures or the installation rituals. Not only am I exercising the memory neurons but I am learning at the same time. Every time I work on memorizing a degree lecture, I often find myself having a revelation of a connection between what we do in lodge and what the lectures teach.
I have often joked that at some point, I need to take a break from IT. The rapid pace of change requires me to constantly be reading, learning, and trying new things to remain current. I'm getting tired from the mental effort as it feels like I have no time to rest, no downtime.
The joke I make is that I will soon do a semi-retirement and go work at UPS where all I have to do is move boxes from one conveyor to the next. In reality, I have watched many workers on assembly lines in meat processing plants (recall my HVAC/R days), and recognized that I could not perform that kind of work on a daily basis. So I guess, I'll keep learning new stuff.
By the way, my philosophy is a simple one.
Knowledge is a light load to carry. You can never have too much. Strive to learn something new every day.
Thank you for this really detailed reply. I appreciate having the opportunity to read your thoughts on this subject, plus I learned a bit about how Ai models are trained!
Like our Brother Bruce said in an earlier comment, my big fear in old age is losing my mind, not a physical collapse. I can deal with sickness and death, but I sure as heck don't want to go nuts. Perhaps that's why I do try to work on exercising the mind, while rather ignoring exercising the body.
But, of course, as we learn in Scottish Rite Masonry, I'd probably be better off if I found an equilibrium between the two.
I agree, and I think it also relates to the poll, and subsequent discussion around whether folks would like to see Emeth move away from the written word. To me, this distinguishing feature of Masonry that matters here is active engagement, versus passive. For me, that's why I voted to keep the posts the written word. They require me to read, interpret, think about, and integrate (or fail to) your and other's ideas. Videos require me to look at a screen and/or maybe listen. But the mental interactivity isn't necessarily there[1]. Similarly, memorization and the other activities you mentioned are .... active. They require actual "doing."
I think a deep dive would find that folks who tend to avoid dotage, or push it off the longest, are going to tend to have things that they actively like and engage in. I think this is why you see correlations with active masons. I think the same would be seen with active woodworkers, (happy) academics, folks active in their churches, founders of companies who run them until their final days, folks who find volunteer options that they're passionate about. They're all DOING things and THINKING about stuff. My introverted, grumpy self also thinks that there is probably a correlation between interacting with others and keeping your faculties longer.
But the bottom line is that anything that you don't use will atrophy.
As a sideline, writing this really brought home how we often describe things as "activities," despite them not being active. Such as "watching TV." I had to change several sentences to make sure I was saying what I meant to covey.
[1] I'm not saying that videos and podcasts are bad, what I'm saying is that they work differently at an intellectual level. And it is EASIER to passively receive them. Especially when it comes to the real work of "thinking about," as I can's sit and ponder over those last two sentences without pausing and perhaps rewinding a few times. That said, I watch a lot of videos and there are some podcasts that I absolutely love and have gotten a lot of value out of. However, I will say that even those have been relatively "shallow", though they have triggered my later going off and doing more deep reading later. I'm currently doing some graduate courses, and it is much more difficult to really engage with the video and podcast components. Even when they're interesting.
Looking back through recent years, I've published an awful lot of little essays here on Emeth, so I guess I'd have to consider myself an essayist. And from that, I've got to look to the father of the form, Montaigne, and from him to the definition of 'essay,' 'to try.' Ultimately, and essay is a reflection, a 'trying out' of ideas to see if they fit. A way of learning what one thinks.
And that certainly does exercise the mind. Comments after all of these posts, that engagement undoubtedly sharpens it as well. And your right, none of that can happen in the same way with podcasts.
Like you, I too love a few podcasts. And I get sparks of ideas from them that I often explore in written form. But, they can't really be engaged with beyond that, as they seem to be a more fleeting form of media.
Ever since I began my performance career I’ve noticed older actively performing entertainers rarely fell to senility. I’ve not known one to retire.
I worked with a guy named George Carl (not Carlin, but I worked with him too) and George a lifetime professional clown and comedian was in his 90’s doing back handsprings and he was sharp as a tack!
I think just staying relevant keeps your mind in shape. ✨💜✨
As I've moved through life I've seen lots of people who have 'retired' in the sense of climbing onto the sofa and never leaving it. Folks who do that sure seem to die really quickly after retiring in that way.
But, I've also seen lots of folks 'retire' by scaling things back, or starting something new on their own, and the folks who do that sure seem to remain vibrant and live healthily a lot longer.
Ever since I began my performance career I’ve noticed older actively performing entertainers rarely fell to senility. I’ve not known one to retire.
I worked with a guy named George Carl (not Carlin, but I worked with him too) and George a lifetime professional clown and comedian was in his 90’s doing back handsprings and he was sharp as a tack!
I think just staying relevant keeps your mind in shape. ✨💜✨
The brain is effectively a muscle, if you don't use it, it atrophies. Take for example mental math skills, I used to be able to do Trig in my head, it was a significant part of my job. I needed to figure out a cut angle the other day for the roof pitch on a lean-to, couldn't do it without a calculator, because it has been too long since I used that stuff.
While I've never been able to do math in my head, I certainly know what you are saying.
For the vast majority of my adult life, I was somehow able to drive from point A to point B without much trouble at all. Sometimes it took a look at a map before heading out, but usually it could just be figured out if I was vaguely familiar with the area.
Now, having used map apps for maybe a decade now, I can't find places I drive to that I've actually driven to more than once in the past. My mind has lost all ability to think in that way.
“Now, having used map apps for maybe a decade now, I can't find places I drive to that I've actually driven to more than once in the past. My mind has lost all ability to think in that way.”
And that is why I refuse to use a GPS in my car. I’ll do the homework beforehand, and then use the printout or whatever I wish to use to get to my destination. And no, I don’t use it to get home, and even though that might sound like a quote from Captain Obvious, you’d be surprised how many people use their GPS on their way home. It’s a habit that the vehicle kind of promotes because the feature is there.
I totally understand, but I’ve also found that even if you’ve forgotten it, if you make an effort to re-learn it, it takes notably less time and effort than if you’re learning it as a new skill.
I also think as you get older, you learn so many new things, and live new experiences, that your mind gets cluttered up with new things. Kind of like a hard drive running out of space on a computer. I believe that your brain works that way, with the less-used information from the past getting put into an “Archive folder” that you have to make an effort to get back into, to make room for the future information. Problem is that new information that quickly becomes trivial doesn’t even make the archive folder. It’s mentally round-filed. This might be a reason why it seems like your memory gets worse as you get older.
I know a beloved 93 year old mason whose mind is still as sharp as a tac. His body may be failing, but he can still recite our ritual almost word perfect. A year or so ago he even confired a second degree!
I have recently read a peer reviewed paper on the effects of memorization on brain health and mental decline. The author focused on Muslim men who, memorized all of the Koran. some of the Koran, and none. There was a strong signal in the data that suggests that the act of memorization preserved brain health. I do think our work, memorizing and recalling, is good for us, and have noticed the mentally declining elder Mason is more rare than in society at large.
I learned long ago about the long and fairly widespread tradition within Islam of memorizing the Koran. That mental feat is almost incomprehensible to me. I know that in Arabic it is written poetically, so perhaps that aids memorization, but still, it is a vast text to hold in memory.
I know that we often tend to view memorization as a hurdle within Freemasonry, but perhaps instead we should view it as exercise. Something that is good for us rather than a chore.
“I know that we often tend to view memorization as a hurdle within Freemasonry, but perhaps instead we should view it as exercise. Something that is good for us rather than a chore.”
My only thought - I don't know anyone in my family suffered from dementia, on either side. My dad was 82 when he passed, and was sharp as a tack.
What is driving me crazy (no pun intended) is that I can feel my forgetfulness. If asked what I had for dinner last night, I have to actually think about it. The typical "going into a room and forgetting what i was going into the room for" happens too many times to admit. I am hoping that my love of reading and masonry will save me.
I too have lost some memory ability as the decades have added up. As a new Mason, I sure could pick up ritual for example. Doing so now is a struggle. Other things too, like I mentioned above, I seem to have completely lost the ability to drive without GPS.
But, I think that my ability to think deeply has improved, including my ability to make connections between seemingly disparate things, pattern recognition I suppose.
So, I'm not sure that it is weakness, rather change.
MWPGM BAILEY,
MY DAD, AND WV PGM JIM FERGUSON, DROVE "COUNTRY ROADS" IN WV TO PERFORM SCHOOLS OF INSTRUCTION. THIS THEY DID UP THRU THEIR 80'S. A MIND WITH MASONRY IN IT IS A WONDERFUL THING.
I know a few Masons like your father. Elderly men who travel a lot for Degree work and Installations, still sharp as tacks despite their age.
I rabbit-holed on this for a bit after reading. If you look up the Rush Memory and Aging Project, the research seems to say to the same thing, people who stay engaged in intellectually demanding activities show slower cognitive decline and lower dementia rates, even after controlling for education and other factors. The mechanisms they describe (cognitive reserve, neural plasticity, more efficient frontal networks) all seem to buffer against age related decline.
My wife always says having something to look forward to and plan for on the calendar keeps you moving, and the science backs her up, social engagement and forward looking purpose are protective factors against cognitive impairment. Active Masonic practice seems to hit all of it: the memory work, the retrieval practice through examinations, the symbolic analysis, the structured speaking. Add regular lodge nights and degree work giving you something on the calendar to prepare for, and you've got the perfect mental gym.
I should have just read your reply first and said "what he said" instead of doing all that typing! :-)
Great minds!
Nah, I think you had a different angle on it. I liked your comment as well. It wasn't a waste of time at all.
>>>My wife always says having something to look forward to and plan for on the calendar >>>keeps you moving
I certainly agree with this, and it is something my own wife and I attempt to include in our own lives. We try to always have things on the calendar that we can look forward to, and find that it keeps us happy knowing that we've got this great thing coming up, sooner or later.
I believe I can live with just about any age-related malady except the loss of my mental facilities. I am counting on active masonry ward off that approaching danger.
Agreed. 100%.
I have had my own theories about this for some time. I'm not a scientist or researcher, nor am I a brain specialist.
My theory is this. Engaging in activities that help you learn new things is a good way to "exercise" the brain. A Johns Hopkins study of 10,000 Americans found that dementia had declined between 2000 and 2012 and they attributed the decline to those staying in school longer. That means active engagement in educational activities.
My first real job was in the HVAC/R industry where I installed and maintained air conditioning and refrigeration systems. A trade that requires knowledge in electricity, pipe fitting, plumbing, electronics, mechanical aspects, and some chemistry. A lot of different areas of focus in there.
Later, starting in 2000, I made a switch to full-time IT related work. My last job at Microsoft saw me owning the design and development of curriculum focused on artificial intelligence and cognitive services in computer technology. After Microsoft decided to eliminate my position, I worked an independant consultant in the same field doing teaching and content development.
That work requires you to look at how computers are able to "reason" in the concept of AI. You have to first think about how intelligence is defined and how it works in humans. Our intelligence is gleaned mostly from experiential learning. This is how our minds grow and learn to acquire new knowledge.
For example, if we teach a toddler how to recognize a bicycle through images, they can identify other bicycles that differ in color or size. However, they might also identify a motorcycle as a bicycle due to similar characteristics. We "train" the toddler to be more accurate in their identification by performing what is known as supervised training. We give them many images of bicycles and tell them they are bicycles. Then we show them more images they have never been exposed to and correct them when they identify incorrectly, and reward them when they properly choose the right image.
Believe it or not, supervised training is a method used in computer AI to train models.
But what does that do for the human brain? It creates new neural pathways and connections in the brain. Johns Hopkins believes that these new pathways and the ability to form them is what helps the brain overcome injury or other issues and keeps it functional from a cognitive standpoint.
But, I also try to relive or recall past occurrences to keep my memories fresh and to "reanimate" those other neural pathways. I don't want to lose those pathways that are already established.
Masonry helps with this as well as I memorize the degree lectures or the installation rituals. Not only am I exercising the memory neurons but I am learning at the same time. Every time I work on memorizing a degree lecture, I often find myself having a revelation of a connection between what we do in lodge and what the lectures teach.
I have often joked that at some point, I need to take a break from IT. The rapid pace of change requires me to constantly be reading, learning, and trying new things to remain current. I'm getting tired from the mental effort as it feels like I have no time to rest, no downtime.
The joke I make is that I will soon do a semi-retirement and go work at UPS where all I have to do is move boxes from one conveyor to the next. In reality, I have watched many workers on assembly lines in meat processing plants (recall my HVAC/R days), and recognized that I could not perform that kind of work on a daily basis. So I guess, I'll keep learning new stuff.
By the way, my philosophy is a simple one.
Knowledge is a light load to carry. You can never have too much. Strive to learn something new every day.
Thank you for this really detailed reply. I appreciate having the opportunity to read your thoughts on this subject, plus I learned a bit about how Ai models are trained!
Like our Brother Bruce said in an earlier comment, my big fear in old age is losing my mind, not a physical collapse. I can deal with sickness and death, but I sure as heck don't want to go nuts. Perhaps that's why I do try to work on exercising the mind, while rather ignoring exercising the body.
But, of course, as we learn in Scottish Rite Masonry, I'd probably be better off if I found an equilibrium between the two.
I agree, and I think it also relates to the poll, and subsequent discussion around whether folks would like to see Emeth move away from the written word. To me, this distinguishing feature of Masonry that matters here is active engagement, versus passive. For me, that's why I voted to keep the posts the written word. They require me to read, interpret, think about, and integrate (or fail to) your and other's ideas. Videos require me to look at a screen and/or maybe listen. But the mental interactivity isn't necessarily there[1]. Similarly, memorization and the other activities you mentioned are .... active. They require actual "doing."
I think a deep dive would find that folks who tend to avoid dotage, or push it off the longest, are going to tend to have things that they actively like and engage in. I think this is why you see correlations with active masons. I think the same would be seen with active woodworkers, (happy) academics, folks active in their churches, founders of companies who run them until their final days, folks who find volunteer options that they're passionate about. They're all DOING things and THINKING about stuff. My introverted, grumpy self also thinks that there is probably a correlation between interacting with others and keeping your faculties longer.
But the bottom line is that anything that you don't use will atrophy.
As a sideline, writing this really brought home how we often describe things as "activities," despite them not being active. Such as "watching TV." I had to change several sentences to make sure I was saying what I meant to covey.
[1] I'm not saying that videos and podcasts are bad, what I'm saying is that they work differently at an intellectual level. And it is EASIER to passively receive them. Especially when it comes to the real work of "thinking about," as I can's sit and ponder over those last two sentences without pausing and perhaps rewinding a few times. That said, I watch a lot of videos and there are some podcasts that I absolutely love and have gotten a lot of value out of. However, I will say that even those have been relatively "shallow", though they have triggered my later going off and doing more deep reading later. I'm currently doing some graduate courses, and it is much more difficult to really engage with the video and podcast components. Even when they're interesting.
Looking back through recent years, I've published an awful lot of little essays here on Emeth, so I guess I'd have to consider myself an essayist. And from that, I've got to look to the father of the form, Montaigne, and from him to the definition of 'essay,' 'to try.' Ultimately, and essay is a reflection, a 'trying out' of ideas to see if they fit. A way of learning what one thinks.
And that certainly does exercise the mind. Comments after all of these posts, that engagement undoubtedly sharpens it as well. And your right, none of that can happen in the same way with podcasts.
Like you, I too love a few podcasts. And I get sparks of ideas from them that I often explore in written form. But, they can't really be engaged with beyond that, as they seem to be a more fleeting form of media.
Ever since I began my performance career I’ve noticed older actively performing entertainers rarely fell to senility. I’ve not known one to retire.
I worked with a guy named George Carl (not Carlin, but I worked with him too) and George a lifetime professional clown and comedian was in his 90’s doing back handsprings and he was sharp as a tack!
I think just staying relevant keeps your mind in shape. ✨💜✨
As I've moved through life I've seen lots of people who have 'retired' in the sense of climbing onto the sofa and never leaving it. Folks who do that sure seem to die really quickly after retiring in that way.
But, I've also seen lots of folks 'retire' by scaling things back, or starting something new on their own, and the folks who do that sure seem to remain vibrant and live healthily a lot longer.
Ever since I began my performance career I’ve noticed older actively performing entertainers rarely fell to senility. I’ve not known one to retire.
I worked with a guy named George Carl (not Carlin, but I worked with him too) and George a lifetime professional clown and comedian was in his 90’s doing back handsprings and he was sharp as a tack!
I think just staying relevant keeps your mind in shape. ✨💜✨
The brain is effectively a muscle, if you don't use it, it atrophies. Take for example mental math skills, I used to be able to do Trig in my head, it was a significant part of my job. I needed to figure out a cut angle the other day for the roof pitch on a lean-to, couldn't do it without a calculator, because it has been too long since I used that stuff.
While I've never been able to do math in my head, I certainly know what you are saying.
For the vast majority of my adult life, I was somehow able to drive from point A to point B without much trouble at all. Sometimes it took a look at a map before heading out, but usually it could just be figured out if I was vaguely familiar with the area.
Now, having used map apps for maybe a decade now, I can't find places I drive to that I've actually driven to more than once in the past. My mind has lost all ability to think in that way.
“Now, having used map apps for maybe a decade now, I can't find places I drive to that I've actually driven to more than once in the past. My mind has lost all ability to think in that way.”
And that is why I refuse to use a GPS in my car. I’ll do the homework beforehand, and then use the printout or whatever I wish to use to get to my destination. And no, I don’t use it to get home, and even though that might sound like a quote from Captain Obvious, you’d be surprised how many people use their GPS on their way home. It’s a habit that the vehicle kind of promotes because the feature is there.
I totally understand, but I’ve also found that even if you’ve forgotten it, if you make an effort to re-learn it, it takes notably less time and effort than if you’re learning it as a new skill.
I also think as you get older, you learn so many new things, and live new experiences, that your mind gets cluttered up with new things. Kind of like a hard drive running out of space on a computer. I believe that your brain works that way, with the less-used information from the past getting put into an “Archive folder” that you have to make an effort to get back into, to make room for the future information. Problem is that new information that quickly becomes trivial doesn’t even make the archive folder. It’s mentally round-filed. This might be a reason why it seems like your memory gets worse as you get older.
I agree with you MW,
I know a beloved 93 year old mason whose mind is still as sharp as a tac. His body may be failing, but he can still recite our ritual almost word perfect. A year or so ago he even confired a second degree!
Yep, it's certainly not uncommon, and that is a tremendous yet largely unrecognized benefit of our Craft. For those active within it anyway.
I have recently read a peer reviewed paper on the effects of memorization on brain health and mental decline. The author focused on Muslim men who, memorized all of the Koran. some of the Koran, and none. There was a strong signal in the data that suggests that the act of memorization preserved brain health. I do think our work, memorizing and recalling, is good for us, and have noticed the mentally declining elder Mason is more rare than in society at large.
I learned long ago about the long and fairly widespread tradition within Islam of memorizing the Koran. That mental feat is almost incomprehensible to me. I know that in Arabic it is written poetically, so perhaps that aids memorization, but still, it is a vast text to hold in memory.
I know that we often tend to view memorization as a hurdle within Freemasonry, but perhaps instead we should view it as exercise. Something that is good for us rather than a chore.
“I know that we often tend to view memorization as a hurdle within Freemasonry, but perhaps instead we should view it as exercise. Something that is good for us rather than a chore.”
Bingo. Nailed it.
My only thought - I don't know anyone in my family suffered from dementia, on either side. My dad was 82 when he passed, and was sharp as a tack.
What is driving me crazy (no pun intended) is that I can feel my forgetfulness. If asked what I had for dinner last night, I have to actually think about it. The typical "going into a room and forgetting what i was going into the room for" happens too many times to admit. I am hoping that my love of reading and masonry will save me.
I too have lost some memory ability as the decades have added up. As a new Mason, I sure could pick up ritual for example. Doing so now is a struggle. Other things too, like I mentioned above, I seem to have completely lost the ability to drive without GPS.
But, I think that my ability to think deeply has improved, including my ability to make connections between seemingly disparate things, pattern recognition I suppose.
So, I'm not sure that it is weakness, rather change.