WHAT IF AGE IS NOTHING BUT A MIND-SET?
Ellen Langer’s views and experiments conform to my own experience. My friends and I are all in our 80s. We are involved in productive work as writers, sculptors, psychologists and teachers. I don’t think enough attention is paid to the elderly who function well and who do not have markedly diminished powers and talents. Although we all struggle with the aches and pains of life, we live life as fully and productively as we can. S.Y., New York, posted on nytimes.com
I believe aging is a mind-set. My parents died young from cancer. What started as an experiment to see if I could beat aging and genes with diet and exercise has gone so well that people assume I am in my 40s, though I am 65. I finished law school at 52 and am now in the middle of my career. I believe you really are in control of your own life, and I would love it if more people took charge. LEONORA, Texas, posted on nytimes.com
In these studies, the elderly people were catered to and removed from the stresses of their daily lives. It’s a pretty big leap to conclude that it was their thinking about age that made the difference. As a person who has had cancer, I am bothered when friends dismiss my fear of a recurrence with platitudes about positive thinking. The idea that we can control our reality with our minds could lead to blaming people for their own suffering. HEATHER BOOTH, Knoxville, Tenn., posted on nytimes.com
CAN VIDEO GAMES FEND OFF MENTAL DECLINE?
At 60, I recognize all the symptoms mentioned in the article, from difficulty multitasking to forgetfulness. While I haven’t tried any of the games mentioned in the story, I recently began playing a game on my phone and can sense my brain mastering new skills. I have no idea whether the play will have a substantive effect on my cognitive abilities, but it seems to me entirely plausible that the older brain can build cognitive strength, just as the older body can regain musculature with exercise. JOSHUA P. HILL, New London, Conn., posted on nytimes.com
I have no doubt that many games, including video games, can help stave off the deterioration and failure of some brain functions. Still, one of the biggest challenges in creating effective brain games is making them fun. Most designers of these games bring an academic approach to the game-development process and end up devising something that can improve brain function, but if it’s not fun, no one will play it. GARTH CHOUTEAU, Mountain View, Calif., posted on nytimes.com
SEARCHING FOR THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
When I was 7, my father took me to the so-called Fountain of Youth at St. Augustine. I had my private doubts. I will turn 71 soon, and modern medicine has given my generation a far better elixir for youth than Ponce could have dreamed of: pharmaceutical potions, surgeries and physical therapies that in combination provide for a remarkably high quality of life for most of us. DONALD A. MCCRIMMON JR., Cazenovia, N.Y., posted on nytimes.com
Being very old myself, I often wonder what these seekers would do if they found the Fountain of Youth. Although legends can be entertaining, I am not convinced that I would want eternal life. I would much prefer a Fountain of Good Health for whatever years are allotted to me now. KENNETH W. PICHON, Melbourne, Fla., posted on nytimes.com
In a world with so much impatience, intolerance, violence and sorrow, how inspiring to know that we have these stories of dignity, sacrifice and beauty. Surely, the lives in this photo essay were not easy. We can read about and celebrate such depth of character only from people who have done a great deal of inner work on their struggles and limits and who find, in time, that these very parts of themselves are their keys to compassion and depth. JULIO GIULIETTI, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, posted on nytimes.com
I’ll be 80 in a month. I look at these old masters and at my own life and I experience a gentle awe about the miracle of just being. Being present. Being aware. Being with myself and with another person. Being at one with the cosmos. And I celebrate the wonderful impermanence of things. HAL EDWARDS, Wauconda, Ill., posted on nytimes.com