Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf](sdfo.org) |
Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf](sdfo.org) |
Over the years, though, my understanding of “intelligence” has evolved and I’m of the opinion today that “it” is several independent (but not unrelated) things: the abilities to learn, to remember, to recall, to connect, to imagine are all manifest in different combinations to different effect. That complexity an nuance shows in people and explains so much.
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Algernon's funeral literally made me cry the first time reading, and still ruminates fumy tears to this day.
Technology augments us and removes our ability to do things any other way. This can be good, but it can also be bad. AI will be the drug that turns society into Charlie. I hope it will last.
i dare not glimpse what i can be for to lose it seems like a terrifying fate
But avoidance of medication just makes me thinks of the deaf people who oppose treatment because they worry they wouldn't be culturally deaf anymore.
Counterpoint. Each day I'm gifted some hours where I can think more like normal.
Chatgpt: This ambitious project was released in stages (or "stages") from 2016 to 2019, across six albums, each representing a different phase of dementia. Through his distinctive use of manipulated pre-World War II ballroom music, The Caretaker, aka Leyland Kirby, explores the progression of the disease, from subtle early signs to the total disintegration of memory and understanding. The work is both an artistic exploration and an empathetic representation of the condition's impact on the human mind and memory.
PS When I read it was so fake when the then-genius protagonist (that is on above-human level) finds it oh-so interesting to talk to that woman-professor.
"Flowers for Algernon" is a fine, memorable title that makes sense in the context of what the story is about.
Perhaps you didn't read it. If your education journey was in another locale, are there any stories that stick with you that strike a similar contemplation, of the hubris of man and the untamed heart?
Edit: Note -- I confused Ringworld with Discworld, as pointed out by rowyourboat below.
Two follow-ups: "Rainbows End" by V. Vinge. Maybe there'll be a cure. Or "Choosing to Die" by Terry Pratchett. Maybe there's no cure and there won't be. At least, you can decide to go on your own terms, as a person still, not a vegetable yet.
The arc of intelligence in Flowers of Algernon is the same arc we’ll all experience over our lifetime. With old age, we all lose our mental faculties. If we value intelligence, in and of itself, that loss will be very painful. But, if we value making the most of our intelligence, we are resilient.
Applying this framework to Charlie, there’s much less to be sad about. He made the most of the intelligence he was gifted, and that’s what really matters.
I think Alzheimer's is scary because it's not just about intelligence. If it was just that you become dumb(er), I wouldn't mind it that much. I must be an exception, but beyond a certain threshold (I wouldn't want to be drooling idiot) I'm not that attached to my intelligence. I'm painfully aware that I'm average and that I had the luck of having an education and a stable home that other, more intelligent but less fortunate people than me, didn't.
I think Alzheimer's is scary because your whole personality goes. Cognitive functions. Memory. You stop being independent. You cannot do the simplest things by yourself. Things become scary and you're not sure why. You are alone, surrounded by strangers.
If there was a progressive illness where you got less intelligent, but still able to function and tell who your loved ones are, remember things, and at least understand where you are and your new place in the world, to me it wouldn't be half as scary as Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's is. I've seen it up close over its course twice. It's as bad as people imagine. You never forget the sound of someone drowning in their own saliva.
Perhaps there is more than us than just our conscience personality and the essence that vibes with the larger pattern of life and reality itself is more than our little personalized highly tuned version of “me”.
Interesting times to be alive for sure.
What? No. That is not at all true. Nearly all of my relatives - other than the one who had alzheimers - were as sharp as ever up until they died.
Citation needed
AFAIK it's not remotely true that "we all lose our mental faculties". Plenty of people do not
If I were diagnosed with dementia, I'd build automation to ensure that I'd appear to die a natural death when I enter the steep slope of cognitive decline. It's as easy as tying the results of frequent cognitive tests into a moving average that triggers my medication dispenser to start mixing in a toxin and or substituting key medication that keeps me alive with a sugar pill. These days, without the right medication, I'd be dead from "natural causes" in a week.
You appear to me to be the type who never writes any bugs in their code.
I know someone who had Alzheimer's. Was in excellent physical shape, had biomarkers of someone 20 years younger. Would go for daily walks for decades, consistently did yoga etc.
The issue, with late stage Alzheimer's (and possibly dementia in general), is that the brain starts to forget so many things it's not even funny (it never was). You forget to swallow water. You forget to chew food. You forget what the bathroom is for. It's far from "living with dignity", even if the body is still physically capable. I think lock-in syndrome is the only other medical situation I'd consider similarly traumatizing.
It's not either-or, it's both. It takes time to reach the point where you're "unaware". Before that, you're fully aware of what's happening and that there's no escape. After that point, it will probably get "better" for you, the patient.
But it also gets way, way worse for everyone around you. With cancer, you're still yourself - you die as the person you were. With dementia (or Alzheimer's at least), you die twice, and people around you are left to tend to your corpse, which happens to move and eat (even if you forget to chew and swallow) for years after you're gone.
Back to the story - the use of grammar and spelling that progress throughout the story is so simple, but such a great way to portray his progress aside from the content of the story.
With lifespans increasing, many of us will have Charlie's experience.
When you're that young, you're used to the idea that you will constantly learn, grow, and expand your horizons. The idea of regression is both real and likely is frightening and motivating. It's truly a story that has stuck with me.
Regardless of one's political opinion of Ronald Reagan, his letter announcing his Alzheimer's diagnosis is relevant and poignant.
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/reagans-...
NOTICE WARNING CONCERNING THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS LETTER
The Reagan Library is authorized to make copies of this letter available only for the purpose of private study, scholarship or research. This letter may not be reproduced for publication without the expressed consent of the personal representative of Ronald Reagan. For more information contact: Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation 40 Presidential Drive Simi Valley, CA 93065 1-805-522-2977
If it makes you feel more comfortable, here is instead a reproduction by PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-...
and another by Time, including an image of the original handwritten letter: https://time.com/4473625/ronald-reagan-alzheimers-letter/
neither of which include the encumbrance that the Reagan Library added to their copy.
There is something motivational about it, which is probably why there are so many YouTube productivity videos with the soundtrack. [1] I get the same feeling from The Last Samurai a book (unrelated to the Tom Cruise movie) by Helen DeWitt, which is about raising a genius child.
I don't know what the psychological effect is called, but there does seem to be something significant to the idea that it's inspiring to read about/watch extremely intelligent people flexing their intelligence.
0. The film is based on a book, The Dark Fields, which doesn't seem quite so positive, although I haven't read it.
I don't know about this one (I only read the story) but every time I've read a full novel that was originally a short or novelette it felt dragged out. Even when I didn't know beforehand it was made out of a short.
It's sad that the market for shorts is basically gone.
Oh... wait! Let's go on a tangent.
I used to subscribe to Asimov's on Kindle before they kicked separate subscriptions out and left only Kindle unlimited available...
Asimov's went to some dubious solution through some distributor that had their own mobile app, so I didn't renew there.
Well guess what: I checked Asimov's again and now they still have the dubious app but it looks like you can subscribe directly on their site and get epubs and pdfs! Guess I wasn't the only one who didn't like the dubious app...
There is hope for shorts after all...
A classic, and increasingly relevant as we continue to push the limits of improving human performance and fixing sub-optimal neurological phenomena like depression and ADD/ADHD.
I still warn people new to ADHD about the sinister side(s) of medication. One of the issues I learned real quick during the shortage of the past few years is that what ever is "given" can be "taken."
I have a decent enough job that provides me a stable life. Nothing to write home about. However, when I was off medication for bits during the shortage, I noticed that my life was built on a house a cards. I managed to create a life that I could not sustain without medication. Everything worked out in the end, but I got a nice glimpse of the what awaited me, and it's a long fall back to rock bottom.
It's made me a bit paranoid in the sense that I feel like I have to be overly cautious about financial and occupational decisions (not a bad thing, I suppose). If I were to buy a house with a certain level of income or take on a new role, I need to be certain that in a "worst case scenario" that I can still chew whatever I bit off.
Life is layers and layers of fragile.
- I like to hike, but what I really love is to be in nature and surrounded by trees.
- I like being funny and quick-witted, but what I really love is to laugh and see other laugh.
- I like to dance, but what I really love is to feel the rhythm of music in my body.
Obviously some of this is self-delusion (I'd also like to be young, strong and smart) but I find it helps.
Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31875692 - June 2022 (207 comments)
I'd say it boosts ability to utilize cognition. For me it thins brain fog and clarifies what I can see on the other side.
With it, I can reason to the point where learning and understanding happens. For a period of time. Most days.
On Recognition, Caring, and Dementia:
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.111...
Radio segment:
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/823/the-question-trap/act-t...
All repent and praise the Mouse!
Of course this is a masterpiece and isn't likely to get lost... but which copyright holder is going to keep the B and C lists available for legal access for the whole 130 years?
And speaking of which, is the story form of Flowers for Algernon available legally anywhere? The lengthened book form yes, probably. But personally I think the original form is better.
Thanks Disney.
The ending has the author talking to the scientists doing the research described in Flowers for Algernon.
Science wasn’t anymore put off by fiction than the scientists currently resurrecting the woolly mammoth (see novel Jurassic Park)…
Also referenced by the TV show Lost:
https://dirtpoorrobins.bandcamp.com/track/but-never-a-key-de...
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NXt7fGhxFGfU6h1m9x06A
The album it's on (Deadhorse, by Dirt Poor Robins) is also excellent if you like apocalyptic cinematic rock with a sci-fi radio drama vibe.
really great movie
If I understood risk, consistent effort, and emotions better, I would have retired in my mid twenties.
If you're here, then there's a good chance you're in a social bubble where you rarely interact with people below that threshold.
Of course, IQ is highly debated and all that. I think there is some merit to IQ, and I also think intelligence is far more complex than what can be measured on a test. Still, I wish I never knew my score because it forever lives in the back of my mind rent free when applying for jobs, trying to learn new skills, etc.. I've always had low self-esteem, so perhaps it a matter of personality when it comes to these things.
While not the literal morale of the story of Flowers for Algernon, it's one of the big themes, i.e. your beliefs and understanding of your intelligence and the world around you change drastically with your "actual" intelligence.
At best, by working in a team all you can achieve is to (rightly or wrongly) estimate your level within the team itself, but only with regards to the type of intelligence which is most used in the given context. And, given that the team members have most likely been selected for or were motivated to join because of their relevant abilities, the team is subject to selection bias.
As a result, on average, you are most likely to be very close to the perceived "average" intelligence of the teams to which you belong. Hence why impostor syndrome is so common in highly skilled professions — as a milder version of the Peter principle [0], people tend to climb to the level where their skills are average.
It is only when comparing the intelligence (or other abilities) of team members that are not relevant to their task, usually when socialising in another context, that you may become aware of broad differences and maybe get a better idea of where you fall in that specific dimension.
Plus, if they doesn't want to know, why does it matter? It's their life to live in ignorance. For this specific topic, I don't see any harm in leaving your actual IQ number a mystery for the cosmos.
[I am not a psychologist, but here is my summary of how I think the real effect works...
Let's say we have a skill we can be assessed on a scale of 1-10. 1 is worst, 10 is best.
The popular perception of the Dunning Kruger effect is that people lower on the scale, say 2 or 3, rate themselves highly - say 7 or 8. And people who are higher - say a 7 or 8 - rate themselves more modestly - say a 5 or 6. i.e. people who are less skilled rate themselves as being better performers than people who are better.
The actual effect is a lot weaker, and a kind of reversion to the mean. If you are a 2 or 3 you may rate yourself a 4 or a 5. If you are a 7 or an 8 you may rate yourself as only a 6 or a 7. Less skilled people are well aware that they are less skilled, but may underestimate the degree of the effect.]
- Exercise regularly and mitigate conditions like diabetes, hypertension*, high cholesterol [1] (aerobic exercise seems to be the best for this, likely because it increases cerebral blood flow)
- Avoid night shift work/disrupting the circadian rhythm [2] (seems to be linked to poor sleep's impact on cardiovascular health, which has in turn seen a strong link to dementia developing)
- Increase your cognitive reserve (math is very commonly mentioned as a way to boost this but I don't think it's the only way) seems to insulate you from the impacts of dementia [3] (this citation isn't a formal paper per se but this statement has been echoed across other articles[4][5])
- Read something regularly [6][7] (I have also seen articles mentioning reciting mantras, but I can't find them at the moment)
- Small doses of nicotine [8][9][10] (I am at work right now so I cannot verify whether or not these studies were funded by tobacco companies - maybe take this one with a grain of salt. Additionally, smoking cigarettes have been linked to an increased risk of dementia. It may be better to try patches or lozenges?)
* There are studies[11][12][13] that suggest high blood pressure in seniors can lead to an increased risk of dementia or worsened cognitive function for those with dementia. One common guess is that the reduced blood flow to the brain in old age is the primary issue, but it could be another covariate that leads to . Not a concern for most of us on this site (I think)
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258000/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164904/
[3] https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-is-cogniti...
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3507991/
[5] https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/building-cognitive...
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8482376/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2911991/
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7912116/
[9] https://actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s4...
[10] https://www.alzheimers.gov/clinical-trials/memory-improvemen...
[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8608286/
[12] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullar...
[13] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14694027/
Edited for markdown
He also wrote the best, IMHO, time-travel story ever written: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_and_the_Alchemist.... A gorgeous little tale.
I just finished reading "Flowers for Algernon" the short story and I never read the novel. It also immediately reminded me of "Limitless". (The book, I wouldn't compare it to the movie, again, at least because of that silly "happy end", which seems to be obligatory in the Hollywood.) If you want somebody's (i.e. mine) take on it: well, "Limitless" was much, much better of a read. I was a lot younger when I read it, so I don't how I would react now, but I remember it to be pleasantly realistic, unlike the vast majority of [English] sci-fi. Unlike in the movie, though, there was a lot less "magic" to MDT. There was no silly stuff like being suddenly able to multiply 10-digit numbers in the head and similar Hollywood representations of "being incredibly intelligent" which are just annoyingly stupid, if you ask me. In the book it felt very real, it was very easy to "feel" what is that effect. It's basically just an exceptionally potent nootropic drug, think "amphetamine, but better". And, yes, that was motivational. This is the main reason I remembered it, actually: there I very much felt how the protagonist was "improved". In the "Flowers for Argernon", on the other hand, it just feels like author is trying to explore some idea he isn't mentally equipped to explore. I.e., he has no idea what he is trying to describe. It's childish and unrealistic.
All I can say about "Flowers for Algernon" the short story — I was thinking that the novel must be much better for this to be considered worthwhile. But then there is an addendum at the end of this:
> The novel, published as a mainstream work by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, is not as effective as the story version, which is much tighter and written from a very successfully executed first-person point of view.
Soo… yeah. I'm not gonna try it right now. But then, again, I must admit that anybody who mostly likes sci-fi shouldn't even listen to me, because I can say only bad things about vast majority of famous sci-fi books, with only just a couple exceptions. Mostly it's literally just pulp fiction, comic books without pictures. Not what I expect when somebody talks about "literature".
Probably the most well known example is Neil Gaiman who is extremely active on tumblr, at least prior to Elon used to be extremely active on twitter, and would regularly drop into discussions of their works.
Other notable examples (albeit less active) off the top of my head include James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank) and Andy Weir.
I don't remember it being a result of a teacher prompting me, though I suspect it was. They weren't books I read in school, but perhaps a teacher asked us what books were our favorites and had us send out letters. They're all laminated, too, which makes me think the teacher(s) took them and preserved them for us.
Maybe referring to the author responding too.
Whenever I read a good book, see a great film, or appreciate an art piece, I try to track down the creator to send them a note of thanks. I'd say maybe 30% reply?
That said, I can't imagine creating something that people are still directly impacted by 60 years later. Software just doesn't seem to work like that
Hint to artists: put up a bitcoin receiving address on your portfolio (it'd make it a bunch easier).
I have considered other machines -- again, as a theoretical exercise -- but ultimately, my decision process was that it had to maintain the plausible deniability to family members that I just died of natural causes. Allowing family to believe that I opted out because I felt that I was a burden would certainly lead to trauma beyond death from natural causes or an accident.
I'm a strong believer in having the power of euthanasia. Part of the reason why dementia frightens me is because it would strip me of this agency. I currently suffer from heart failure, and dementia is a comorbidity in the later stages. Being able to choose a dignified end, hopefully in 30-40 years, is important to me.
I came across this song recently about losing someone to Alzheimer's.
To me, they pretty much died once they stopped recognizing us. For one of them that was very soon after we realised something was wrong, and yet her body survived a decade after her mind was gone and it was awful seeing how it reduced her husband who spent all of those years in the same nursing home doing nothing but tending to her.
My other grandfather died of cancer a few years into his wife's alzheimers hospitalisation and frankly it feels to me like he got the better way out of him and his wife (but largely because it was a very aggressive cancer and he went during an attempted operation; maybe I'd have thought differently about it if he'd struggled with it for years).
Modern technology is kind of the root of most of my issues. I could survive like most people because the expectation of sitting in an office for 8+ hours a day would vanish. My deficits might be reduced, nonexistent, and/or potentially beneficial. I guess in some sense, I would imagine I might feel more "capable" in the world of a muddy fight for our survival. Then again, I could just die in childhood from a deep cut.
Of course, modern life is too good to give up. Despite its comforts, it's clear modern life benefits some more than others (or any lifestyle for that matter).
Thanks for reminding me to be thankful for what I do have. :)
also, the idea of being not being able to get hired or fired is really a silly concern as I always did my job well and did not want to leave my "safe" job.
Emotionally? Just* ignore them and pursue the thing that pays you the most. It's boring and it's unhealthy and it's hard and it's not romantic.
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-023-00387-0
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038528/
Edited for clarity
<< KILLBOT ACTIVATING >>
oh no
I think this is especially important in cases of dementia. Daily routines will become one of the last things to go, as long as there is good nagware in place to keep you in line.
I use nagware to remind me to take my medication, do my Duolingo practice, do my nightly checkins to GitHub, feed the various critters that don't or won't remind me themselves, and do my various work rituals. Weekly, monthly, and annual reminders (doctor appointments and birthdays) are also important.
According to one (or more) of the annual Stack Overflow Developer Surveys, didn't something like over 90% of developers think they were better than the average developer?
My point is that I agree with you. What one thinks isn't always the reality.
The fact that reality is WILDLY different for two people simply based on how they perceived it is exhausting.
Also it actually sums up why I hate managing people. Everyone is the star of their own show, and managing them is about showing them all the other actors. It's exhausting.
The take away should be that, yes some people are intrinsically smarter, but that is a crappy system to base self worth off of, because then only one person in the world gets to be happy.
It's also worth pushing back against the notion of a linear intelligence scale to begin with. There are many kinds of intelligence, some of which are not easy to measure.
[1] Because "you can't type-check being hit by lightning"...
Dementia poses a legal wrinkle, in that in many jurisdictions, assisted suicide requires consent at the time of the procedure. In many states in the US, especially in the south, assisted suicide is a boogeyman that runs against prevalent religious beliefs. In this case, someone with diminished capacity may be seen as unable to give consent, which could land the assistant in legal trouble.
This is why I like the idea of automation that acts on objective measures, with fail safes in place. Likewise, if after "doing the deed", the system erases itself and the firmware on the pill dispenser is glitched out, then the whole thing can look like an accident. A letter can be sent ahead of time to the family attorney, only to be opened under suspicion of foul play, which can clear up any potential investigatory wrinkles if law enforcement gets involved.
There's also an interesting bit of case law and state statutes that deals with "drug cocktails", which when combined, will lead to death. A physician can prescribe these in certain places without getting in trouble if certain criteria have been met.
Either way, where this is legal, it requires that the person be of the capacity to consent, which someone with dementia cannot do.
Sure, there is a Ship of Theseus argument to be had here, but I am very much opposed to being a burden on my loved ones, and if nothing were to change with my mind, that opposition would remain. I've seen first-hand the suffering that Alzheimer's inflicts on loved ones, and that's not something I would EVER consent to while in my right mind. The very idea horrifies me.
That the alien consciousness that would be inhabiting my body at that point doesn't want to die, and holds a few of my memories, is of little consequence to me. Even if this experience is pleasant, at that point, it's not my experience -- what little of "me" is left to experience it -- that I care about.
I'm a firm believer in euthanasia. I should get the choice while I am able to make that choice. If future me had the capacity to choose, future me would choose the same.
The Dunning Kruger effect effect, eh?
How sublimely apropos!
Are you aware that your whole post just said "Nobody understands the version of this thing in my head?" This us a studied thing. You need sources and conclusions drawn from them, not your own speculation (not that it was horribly off the mark, but come on, man)
Of course my understanding is also based on some probably misremembered media, combined with a five minute refresher on the Wikipedia page, so it may be equally erronious. Please do you own research.
The exact percentage of people getting it wrong was plucked out of the air, but that's not the important part of his comment.
But a saving grace is the degradation can be combated with exercise both mental/physical.
I am not sure how much of aging is understood, so I hesitate to mention stuff like DNA damage.
One thing's for sure though: we're still in the stone age of neurology.
Now of course we are aware that the brain has plasticity. It can rewire itself, grow, learn.
Re: citation needed : failed literature search link needed as pre-requisite
It's not only their dream, it's also the plot of one of the world's oldest works of literature (The Epic of Gilgamesh). Distress over the inevitability of death is not a modern phenomenon, but we have succeeded in extending our lives further than any previous generation.
I’m unsure whether it’s worse for the affected individual or the loved ones around them. That uncertainty leads me to the same conclusion as you.
COVID brain fog gave me some perspective around the recognition that one’s brain is inexplicably not working as expected. Existing in that state of frustration for years is nightmarish.
Your description of dementia, however, is only true from the outside. Prior to that stage, I passed through a period of about a week where I was completely absent. I was able to behave coherently for short periods of time, but I wasn't creating any memories. It's a blank. (I have text threads saved with friends where I tell them what's happened and where I was, carry on for a bit, and then loop back to the beginning.) If identity is a pattern both stable and self-modifying over time - which, based on this experience, I believe it to be - then I had ceased exist.
I've made an agreement with my wife that, should I become demented in old age, she should feel no moral compulsion towards any course of action. She's welcome to keep whatever is left of me around so long as it gives her joy, but "I" will no longer be present, and whatever happens to whatever is left no longer matters. As far as I'm concerned she should warehouse, or (better, though unfortunately not legal where we live) euthanase my body, and get on with doing something useful with her time.
Later in life, most of these gifted kids were total disappointments. I know I am.
If the expectation was that I would end up saving the world or something then sure I'm a disappointment, but I like to think I've gotten pretty far considering where I started.
Anyway, of the all the gifted children studied, many of them went to be fairly accomplished but never became anything noteworthy -- doctors, lawyers, teachers, researchers, etc..
However, two of the children that didn't meet the cut for the study due to not having a high enough IQ actually went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize separately in separate fields. Those two individuals were Luis Alvarez and William Shockley.
I wouldn't say I was a disappointment, but I certainly didn't go as far as even the "smart" kids from my own graduating class. I know many of them are "real" engineers working for companies we all know and doing important work in hardware, architecture, civil projects, and aerospace. I feel dumb compared to them.
At the same time, I have a successful career in software, no debt, happily married for almost 10 years, moved to a different continent, etc etc. Sure, am I "smarter" than the average Joe? I guess, but knowing that information doesn't change anything about my life. If I took a real IQ test, I think I would also feel some sort of disappointment or pressure to live up to expectations or better myself in some way.
Idk; I guess that's why I made my original comment. The utility of knowing your IQ is "above average" is so useless to me, I'm not sure why anyone would want to knowingly saddle themselves with that knowledge. Be free, be happy, and be yourself.
I've read some conjectures that IQ is quite accurate below average, but seems to fall apart rather quickly the further one starts looking at scores above 100. But who knows? I'm just some random dude with Internet access.
Of course, you'd probably die pretty quickly, but nobody would stop you.
The chance of living on a proverbial paradisal desert island isn't available anymore; those places are desirable!
What does this mean? I doubt it stands for the political acronym that first comes to my mind.
of every person
(Pedantically, that decline may take less than 15 seconds.)
The only reason some people escape this fate is that they die too young.
It may just be a side effect of my dyslexia coping, but I read it as ‘analogy’ until reading your comment. Even then, I’m am pretty sure everyone knew they meant ‘analogy’ and just moved on. It’s okay to point out mistakes, but please be civil when doing so.
According to Wiktionary:
- (rhetoric) A narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
- A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation.
- A symbolic representation which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one.
He might have been triggered by my use of "average". I realize it now that it may not have been adequate, sorry for that, English is not my first language.
It would be abhorrent if you understood what was going on, but if you did you wouldn't be in that state. I'm not sure whether in general terms Dementia is as traumatic for the sufferer as the observer who attaches value to a historical person (who for all intents and purposes is gone)
My mothers mother avoided hospital until it became too apparent to everyone around here that my grandfather tricker her. She'd make jokes about her failing memory for years, and while some of it might have been genuine, in retrospect odds are she noticed it was getting bad and was obscuring it with humour.
For years afterwards, she would forget conversations partway through them, but clearly be aware that something was wrong. E.g. for some time she recognised me, but would wonder when I got there and how long I'd been there, and occasionally my name and who I was would slip, but she was otherwise lucid enough to understand that this was not normal.
My dads mother managed to hide the decline until one day my grandfather was going in to hospital for a minor operation, and she refused to get out of bed. The last time I saw her before that, she seemed lucid and held a conversation. I never had another conversation with her, though she lived another decade - she went non-verbal almost overnight, but it was clear this wasn't some sudden physical change; she'd held it together until then, and gave up. It might be her cognitive decline was faster, and less cruel, but we really don't know if it was, or if she just managed to conceal it until the very brink.
How much after that she managed to hold on to enough to recognise any of us - including her husband we don't know, because shortly after she went non-verbal she mostly stopped moving.
But one of the cruelest parts of Alzheimers is what it does for those left behind - my grandfather spent a whole decade in his 70's and 80's walking to the nursing home, sitting with her all day, every day, then walking home, after she was for all intents and purposes gone.
I called him once when he was in the hospital and had to be restrained. He begged me to come get him because he thought he had been kidnapped and was being held in a barn somewhere. There was no convincing him that the people around him were doctors and nurses who were trying to help him.
After I told him I couldn't come (I was in another country at the time) he begged me to call the police. By the end of the call he told me the barn was on fire and he was going to burn alive. It was enough to convince me that I needed to be in control of when and how I die.
My dad had no idea what was going on and he was 100x worse for it.
There's a reason we sedate people undergoing most medical operations.
The problem with dementia isn't just at the "old person chilling in room" state, as I mentioned if it progresses far enough (which is nearly guaranteed if they live long enough) basic bodily functions become difficult. A parallel case of eg paralyzed people (both of whom are unable to swallow properly for different reasons) shows how frequently they can die from something as simple as choking on their own saliva.
> There's a reason we sedate people undergoing most medical operations.
I'm not sure what you mean by this, if you're referring to people waking up but being unable to move being potentially torturous I agree.