Aging Archives - 7 Takeaways

A younger person making a selection from a softly lit wooden box or drawer, slightly ajar, filled with words in the style of old typeset letterpress letters, vintage dictionary pages, and small labeled tags — like a jeweler's tray, but for words instead of gems. Warm amber tones. Evokes the idea of a personal vocabulary as an accumulated treasure you can draw from.

The Words We Choose – 7 Takeaways No. 294

You are what you read. Please don’t judge me. Memory isn’t what you think. The words you use matter. The cost of science denial. Understand thyself. Fear and aging. Never stop learning.

An angry person with an exploding cloud over their head looking at a computer screen with a news article on it. The headline is "BIG SCARY HEADLINE", and the body of the news article begins "Now that we have your attention, it's really not that bad..."

Never Made It Past the Headline – 7 Takeaways No. 288

Read before sharing. Laugh for longevity. Sit still, if you can. Changing social norms. Pain hurts. Fear doesn’t lie. Getting older. Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

A Corgi in a lab wearing a lab coat holding up a test tube and looking at it quizzically.

Your Brain Evolved to Solve Problems – 7 Takeaways No. 286

Critical thinking is a superpower. Problem solving is a superpower. How to improve happiness. Fewer options can be better. Science doesn’t stop (or care). The internet is for chatbots. Reading is on the decline.

A young person helping an older person walking their dog, a Corgi, cross the street.

Did I Help Anyone Today? – 7 Takeaways No. 284

Misinformation LOVES impatience. Consider the quality, not the source. On thoughts, truths, and aging. Ban social media bans. Listen to trauma. Help someone. Accept a little boredom.

A close up of a Corgi "businessman" pointing to a large screen containing an x/y plot labelled "My Success" with a line that goes up and down before finally going up to the upper right of the plot.

Success Is Not a Straight Line – 7 Takeaways No. 283

Disaster & doomsday are imminent! Old and bold. Heresy becomes truth. Philosophy FTW! Perfectionism and judgement considered bad. Are you cognitively rigid? Just do it.

Leonardo Davinci painting using Photoshop.

Real Artists Have Always Used Technology – 7 Takeaways No. 280

The choices we make. Becoming someone new. The spirituality of science. Technology isn’t new. Changing the way you read. Tools should be useful. The slow death of a friendship.

A party of laughing people boarding a ship named "S.S. One Way"

We Should Live Our Lives Wrapped in Humor – 7 Takeaways No. 272

Good dog. The devil you know. AI doesn’t care. Aging should be fun[ny]. Embrace the suck. The world is scary. You know less than you think.

a classic wind-up cymbal-banging monkey toy sitting on top of a stack of newspapers, magazines, and books

The World Is Messy – 7 Takeaways No. 262

Your opinion. It’s a messy world. Groupthink is everywhere. Aging and letting go. Common sense isn’t. The importance of friends. The power of expectations. Understanding versus agreeing.

a crowd of people looking and pointing at an individual in the foreground who has a worried look on their face

This Maddening Worry – 7 Takeaways No. 247

Lack of perfection. What others think. Mean politics. Don’t get comfortable. Optimism required. Prepare, hope, and act. You should read this.

a cartoonish zombie emerging from a computer screen.

Zombies Wrecking Society – 7 Takeaways No. 242

Misunderstanding required. Purposeful longevity. I told you so. Google as zombie. Emotional exfoliation. Memes easy, thinking hard. Knowledge vs. understanding.