My wife Diane and I spent a weekend several weeks ago at the National Academy of Sciences center at Woods Hole, in a beautiful coastal location near the southern base of Cape Cod. The National Academies hold several meetings each year for a group of special senior advisor’s (their ‘President’s Club’), and in part because I had good reasons to meet with scientists and friends in Boston on Friday and Saturday, I agreed to participate. The subject of the meeting was “Smart Prostheses”, summarizing research organized to help injured and brain-damaged soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with a new generation of therapeutic strategies and devices designed to help. I’m going to talk about some of this science that was inspired by this meeting, in a future blog. Today, I would like to talk about the terrific group of mostly elderly people who participated in this great meeting.
The people who are willing to help the Academies in their important national missions come mostly from the ranks of business and academic leaders. Because they have a strong interest in science, they are generally well read, and as laypersons, well informed about the issues of science. They continue to pursue NEW interests, to seek NEW understanding, and to contribute in small and large ways to make a difference in the world. For the most part, they are in good spirits, have useful things to tell you, and are in excellent mental shape, for their ages. Their relative brain health can be attributed to a well-spent cognitive life.
These folks were LOADED with cognitive reserve. It was a privilege to be with them for a few days!
P.S. Just to show HOW smart they are, several of these older individuals have already enrolled in Posit Science’s Brain Fitness Programs. You can never have TOO much cognitive reserve!
