Keep mind, or body?

[BrianMDelaney]

Here's an example of a great sort of topic for Chitchat. It's from Al Pater, posted to the Community email list.

 

 

If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

 

-- Al Pater, alpater@SHAW.ca

 

For the record, I would definitely choose mind!

 

Brian

[timc]

For the record, I would definitely choose mind!

 

Brian

 

The way Al phrased it, you could become a vegetable at 30.1 years and still live to 90. No good!

 

There needs to be a benefit to the alternative. E.g., living to 70 with the mind/body of a 30 year-old versus living to 90 with mind of a 30 year-old.

 

I could be wrong, my mind isn't 30!

[BrianMDelaney]

Tim, good point.

 

Neither my mind nor my body feels particularly 30 right now, so I may be overestimating the benefits of the whole 30 thing, mind aspect or body aspect....

[Larry Johnson]

Here's an example of a great sort of topic for Chitchat. It's from Al Pater, posted to the Community email list.

 

 

 

 

For the record, I would definitely choose mind!

 

Brian

Can I negotiate proportions, and have the mind of a forty year old, and the body of an unusually healthy 50 year old?  I generally favor mind over physical attributes, particularly if we're talking about the more aesthetic qualities (well defined muscles, smooth skin).  On the other hand if I'm physically miserable, it would make it hard to take advantage of that sharp young mind I've maintained.

[Robert Cavanaugh]

This would be a good question to ask Steven Hawkins.

[Guest Judy Brown Lawson]

I'm 75 and so far haven't lost too much of either.  My husband still lectures on middle eastern philosophy.  I rode my mare until she tossed me a month ago and broke about 6 bones (3 months grounded), and life goes on. Who in the world ever invented "old age" it's really such a crock. 

 

I mean, let's be gross. 

 

Sex - excellent

Curiosity - getting worse and worse

Projects - piling up

Worries - plenty.  I prioritize. 

 

One of these days I'm going to drop dead, hopefully running flat out. 

 

Don't believe what they tell you. Old age is a myth,

[Saul]

Hi Judy!

 

I'm 75 also -- I'll be 76 in June.  I actually exercise fairly vigorously -- one hour on the latest model Precor Elliptical with hand motion at the maximum resistance (20) and a decent speed -- I complete about 5.1 miles each session.  I've been practicing CRON since April, 1996 -- so I believe that I show some of the effects of CRON:

 

Dexa says that I have osteoporosis -- but I've never had a serious fracture.

 

Sex:  Like most males on CRON, sex is boring -- but I have no trouble executing it, to satisfy my mostly-healthy-eating-not-on CR-wife. I have sex rarely.

 

Curiosity:  High, as it's always been.

 

Projects:  I've just sent out the final version of my over 300 page math research book, "A Non-Hausdorff Completion", to World Scientific.  (They had approved it for

publication after peer review.)  It should be in print this year.

 

I should note that, I teach and do research in mathematics at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, NY.  Perhaps this, together with CR, helps keep the mind sharp (I hope :) ).

 

Worries:  I think that I'm more calm and unworried than I've ever been.  I do use meditation (insight meditation) occasionally (especially when I have any difficulty sleeping -- such as going to sleep when my mind is fully engaged and stimulated with something).

 

Anyway, practicing CR can, IMO, only be hepful to you.

 

Best to you,

 

  -- Saul