Are Older, Forgetful People Really Wiser? Or Was That Report Planted to Help John McCain( or even Hillary)

Our latest venture into planted news appears to be a report showing that older folks, even those who appear to be confused and forgetful are actually smarter, more creative (though why that should be assumed to be exactly equal, is beyond me.

It left me confused. (Which shows I'm smarter than y'all, ha ha.)  (Okay just kidding there.) 

Then I realized that this information was most likely an example of news which has been  planted with the mainstream press for political reasons.

One candidate is an older man who seems to be confused a lot.

While the other is a younger man who very obviously very intelligent and erudite. 

I've seen enough planted news to figure this out.

One year, after George W. Bush had put on a few more pounds than usual -- and was practically wearing zoot suits to cover up the expanding waistline, a piece came out 'proving' that bike riders could be tubby and still be supremely fit. 

Just like this latest report that the old are smarter and more creative report, the earlier piece really didn't prove it's point.  It's enough to get statements from a lot of people who are going to get a career boost by being described as a premium expert on a subject if they go along with the report's thesis. 

And voila' you have instant 'new science'.  And amazingly, it makes an important Republican look good.  

Funny.  I wish they'd tell us how we can tell the supposed difference between a confusion that signals brilliance and that which is imbued in a guy like George W. Bush who was confused as a candidate and did turn out to be a horrendous president.  Or the 'creativity' of an old guy like Cheney who can't even figure out where to aim his gun when out shooting with friends and that of a John McCain who we are still trying to judge.  Cheney's creative governing shenanigans in office have gravely injured our democracy.

What then does that say about the easily confused older candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton?

Somehow when they're confused, they are showing how smart and creative they are?

Basically, I believe, the confusion from McCain who has flip flopped more than any other candidate in this election era comes from representing the lobbyists and, now, taking a break lobbyists (who dominate his staff) and big business (who greatly dominate his campaign donations), while trying to pretend he's one of the people, and is looking out for you.  

I mean it must be hard to waffle from "Bomb, bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran" and "make that a hundred years"  (occupation of Iraq) to "out of Iraq by 2013" fantasy for us supposedly 'dumb folks'.

Personally, I'm at an point where I should be happy to be called older and smarter because of age.  But I know I've achieved it by decades of increasing attention to politics and the games that are played on us taxpayers by our leaders who tend to take from us and give to corporations and rich people. It actually is an insult to me to say what I've achieved is just a matter of a brain that can't sort things out as well anymore.

And BTW, no I can't keep my mind on the latest mens wear and dating techniques.  They are irrelevant to my life. There are other things that I don't waste brain cells on, some that I should if I wanted to get richer.But I chose to focus on getting as much information as I can about what is really happening in our nation.and passing it on.

I believe that John McCain is focusing on the things that are important to him, how to serve the fatcats and big business who are going to get him elected to the vaunted position of POTUS.  That's why the details of little things, like our mess in Iraq escapes him until he can have a talk with his ex-lobbyist staff (who will go back to lobbying if they don't get a cabinet seat) tend to escape him.

According to the NY Times report in the "Well" blog "Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain " (the mainstream blogs need to pick up a lot of news and do have a tendency to grab whatever they can.  Yes, this is the same with other blogs, but the difference is that a blog in the New York Times or other mainstream source tends to have a lot of gravitas, though, from what we are learning they don't vet their information much better than any other blogger.  ) 

And lets not even go into the graphic at the Times.   No wait, lets look at it. The younger brain is shown shaded and focusing on one thing.  While the older brain is  a very light beige as it scans on 21 items.  The over the top simplicity makes the graphic a very poor one except to be used in propaganda.

Then again, so is this report.

I've checked and the recently published new edition 'neurology book'  (as described by Tara Parker Pope who does the NY Times health blog). The title is “Progress in Brain Research.”   I checked it out via web search (Yahoo) and it is described as being published in 2008, well within the time frame to help either John McCain or Hillary Clinton, but most likely the arguments developed in the book were done last year when John McCain was having the problems with the 'old guy' image.  But it's a science book with data!  Data!  You know that magic data!  We have to believe it right?  Yeah, like we have to believe that " The Bell Curve" proved that blacks are naturally dumb.  It had 'data' too.

Then again the book writers might be completely innocent of trying to cook data. (I think it has selected it poorly, at the least).  It is possible the news of this book's new edition might have just been picked up by either the McCain or Clinton machine to push on the news media.  

tags: john mccain  hillary  clinton  barack  obama  intelligence  aging brain  

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