when people get old.....

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  1. siftlibra profile image56
    siftlibraposted 14 years ago

    Do you think most people become wiser when they get older? what do you think can we learn from the older generations?

    1. profile image0
      cosetteposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      i think it depends on the individual and their life experience, etc.

      i have known some very wise young people and some very foolish old ones...

    2. profile image0
      rednckwmnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Wiser..wihtout a doubt. How could an older person not know more? what can we learn? Whatever we ask, and are willing to shut up and listen too. I have had several, very close to my heart, older friends. I will cherish thier memories always.
      I read a poem when I was a kid, I forget excatly how it goes
      It was about a small child, speaking with an older gemtleman. the child was upset, crying, the man asked him why
      the child said...grown ups think I cant do stuff on my own, grown ups think I dont know anything, sometimes I pee my pants by accident, and worst of all..grown ups never have time for me
      to everything the litle boy said, the old man said..me too

      1. Marisa Wright profile image85
        Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        I agree.  However there does come a point where world-weariness can set in, and then there's a risk of becoming closed-minded, which can offset the wisdom.

    3. dutchman1951 profile image59
      dutchman1951posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I am Older and I can say Honestly not all of us~!

      Judge them by there efforts, what they really do, not what they say; there is a joke that has some truth to it?:

      What is the difference between a war story and a Fairy Tale?
      The Fairy Tale starts, once upon a time!
      The War story starts, Now this aint no s...T!

      Both stories are worthless. Watch the fruit of their actions to see the real knowledge that they know.

      Jon

    4. Dim Flaxenwick profile image80
      Dim Flaxenwickposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      most people do Not get wiser as they get older. It is a fallacy.! BUT Some people do get wiser and we can learn from them mainly by taking notice of the mistakes they made in their lives

  2. Dame Scribe profile image56
    Dame Scribeposted 14 years ago

    That was around the bend lol I was thinking of somethin else entirely, lol. tongue people age yes, some retain their minds while others are affected with shrinkage..unfortunately..hmm but for the most part, yes, elders do have knowledge that could be shared and with creativity ...be transformed into a whole new idea for a different reason altogether, if that makes any sense tongue lol

  3. Colebabie profile image60
    Colebabieposted 14 years ago

    I think only in certain ways to people get wiser as they get older. Some people get stubborn and stuck in their ways, which isn't necessarily the "right" way. From older generations we can learn what relates to their time, work ethic, etc.

  4. Kudlit profile image62
    Kudlitposted 14 years ago

    There are older people who indeed become wiser as they age. They're the ones who were smart to begin with when they were younger.

  5. wychic profile image84
    wychicposted 14 years ago

    If there's one thing we can learn from the older generation, it's how to temper ourselves. The younger a person is, the more likely they are to act rashly or impulsively, but many older people have learned to slow down and consider their actions. I'm around people 20 or 30 years older than me much more than I am around people my age, and the one thing they try to always remind me of is how far calm and reasonable can take people.

    On the flip side...older people have lived long enough to realize how much they don't know, while many of us younger folk tend to be deluded with ideas of knowing and understanding everything big_smile

    1. siftlibra profile image56
      siftlibraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      but do you think that old people's experience can teach us how to deal with something difficult? or don't you think they are considered as the wise largely depends on their rich experience of life?

      1. AEvans profile image71
        AEvansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        I believe the older you become the wiser you become as you learn from your mistakes and you try to guide the younger ones in the right direction so that they do not make the same mistakes you did. smile

      2. wychic profile image84
        wychicposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        I think their experience can definitely help in general, and even more certainly if what you need help with is a similar experience to ones they've had. If nothing else, someone who has been in the same situation before can tell you how their own reaction was not right, or how it worked for them.

        I think the classification as wise definitely comes from their experiences, though I think it also depends on whether they learned from those experiences or not. Some people absolutely refuse to take in the lessons of their experience, and therefore do not proceed on the "wise" path. Of the older people I know, I'd say the vast majority has definitely been made wiser by their life experiences.

  6. profile image0
    Leta Sposted 14 years ago

    It's entirely dependent on the individual whether a person is wise or not--be they young or old.

    Old people should be respected in a general way--and I guess in a sense, for what they have contributed in life--for all have, no matter who they are and what they've done.

    1. jiberish profile image80
      jiberishposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Being an old person, I appreciate that!

    2. Paradise7 profile image69
      Paradise7posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, I like this answer.  We'll all get there someday, and I hope we can communicate to succeeding generations what we've learned, before we go to the great beyond.

  7. earnestshub profile image80
    earnestshubposted 14 years ago

    Some people age wonderfully and become wise. others get stuck in their thinking, so I guess it depends on the individual?

  8. marlenebr profile image60
    marlenebrposted 14 years ago

    I think you are talking about my generation, those of us born in the 40's. I know I am wiser from the experiences I've had. As for the younger generation learning from my experiences, in some cases that may not be possible, because the younger generation is living in a far different world than I did.

    I use my mother as an example, she just passed away at 97,she had a very hard time coming to terms with things in my sister and my lives. We are both divorced and even though she had the grounds for divorce, she would never had considered it. When she tried giving advice it usually was irrelevant. What we did learn from her was about her heritage, before she died my sister interviewed her on tape, so we would have something to share with our children and grandchildren.

  9. profile image49
    getyourgirlfbackposted 14 years ago

    I think there is a lack of appreciation for the wisdom generated by years of experience.

    I say this as a member of a young generation: my peers generally do not respect the wisdom and advice of the elderly.

  10. tksensei profile image60
    tksenseiposted 14 years ago

    Just being old doesn't confer wisdom upon you anymore than just being young means you are sharp.

  11. bingskee profile image61
    bingskeeposted 14 years ago

    not all of the old people gets wiser when they become old. some of them become stubborn, self-centered, and inconsiderate.  sometimes it is not fair that we say we have to understand because they are old already but that is how it is.  when we fight them and do bad things against them, even if they are the ones that provoked us, the problem still lies with us, the younger ones. we have to remember that along with becoming old comes the waning of youth, strength and reason.

    i believe though that anybody can still learn from the negative ways of some old people. after all, we have a sense of what is right and wrong, and we can learn from the effects of the bad things the old have done or is doing.

  12. andromida profile image55
    andromidaposted 14 years ago

    I think most of the people get wiser as they age.Actually older people has already gone through many difficult and challenging phases of life which are treasure to them and we can learn a lot from their experience so as we can minimize the possibility of errors in our own life.congrats to all the old wise people for sharing their knowledge to us.

    1. profile image0
      \Brenda Scullyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      i love you, you are so wise and young

  13. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    You'll have to wait until I'm old before I can help ya missy. They tell me it's quite painful. You know, creaky joints, heart surgery and such. But I must say, I had only one heart surgery in only one part of my body. there was this hollow thing they did stuck up my leg once.

    1. jiberish profile image80
      jiberishposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Heard Viagra works for that.

      1. profile image0
        ralwusposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        Nah! Pot works just fine, that and a little Playboy.

        1. jiberish profile image80
          jiberishposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          You keep changing your Avatar, I can't keep up, you old fart!

          1. profile image0
            ralwusposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I ain't farted in 30 minutes woman. It's Friday and I'm getting drunk. Well, a little bit maybe. wink

            1. jiberish profile image80
              jiberishposted 14 years agoin reply to this

              Is it Friay already where you are?

  14. profile image0
    \Brenda Scullyposted 14 years ago

    ah yeah older and wiser..... i wish i knew now what i should have known then and all that......

    we may not become nicer people but that was not the question.  It is very hard watching your kids making mistakes, and not interfering, you have to let them learn.... am i making sense here

  15. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    Now I must say as to reference in what was said up there by two ladies, you take a young ass-hole and make him an old ass-hole, he's still and always will be an ass-hole. Ain't no wisdom in ass-holes, Just shiit!

  16. flread45 profile image59
    flread45posted 14 years ago

    Getting older doesn't make you smarter,that comes from education.
    Creaky joints,yes and you have to rest more when hiking.
    The viagra thing is in your mind,and if you eat the right foods and exercise,you will have no problem with sexual activity.

  17. starme77 profile image76
    starme77posted 14 years ago

    Sure - you start learning the day your born - and if your smart - you don't quit until the day you die - white hair shows wisdom - don't we teach our kids not to make the same mistakes that we have - there ya go

  18. sannyasinman profile image61
    sannyasinmanposted 14 years ago

    Some wisdom from a very old person:

    "Share with the people of the world if you wish, but share with them not what you think their experience should be, but what you know your experience has been. 
    Teach others if they ask, but teach them not that you have their answers, but that they have their own."

    1. Lisa HW profile image61
      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      These are nice thoughts, and I generally agree with them.  The trouble (I've learned in my "mere" three decades of adult life) is that if we try to help younger people see some things by sharing our own experience they usually think, "Well, that was YOU.  That won't be me.  I'm different."  The thing we tend to learn with a couple of decades of being an adult is that none of us is as "different" as we started out believing we were.  hmm   (I, too, feel a Hub coming on.  smile  )

      1. jiberish profile image80
        jiberishposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        I so agree, young people think they know so much until they get to be our age, and realize they should have listened.

        1. profile image0
          rednckwmnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          i listen, and have been since my youth

        2. rebekahELLE profile image85
          rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          so true. I wish I would have listened to my parents more when I was younger; as an adult I became very close to them and admired their wisdom. 

          Now I have 2 sons in their 20's and I will never forget a phone call from my oldest after he bought his own home.  We were just talking about homeowner stuff and he said, 'you know, mom, you were right.'  I respond, 'yeah, about what?'  son said, 'everything!'   I took that as as a job well done and started laughing. we think it's not getting through, and then it does. smile

  19. Aya Katz profile image84
    Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

    Education doesn't make us smarter -- just more educated!

  20. sooner than later profile image60
    sooner than laterposted 14 years ago

    I enjoy the elderly. I think that it is a shame how they are treated by americans. Even third world countries don't abandon them in their older years.

    I write many articles from war vets and their experiences as well. It is interesting to see the remorse for actions in war. From all sides.

  21. profile image0
    elliot.dunnposted 14 years ago

    i definitely agree with those that have said it depends on the individual; as ralwus put forth once an asshole, always an asshole.  but for those of us still young, we have a tendency to right off all authority in favor of our own experience and ideas.  we're quick to shrug off our parents and that then extends to other authorities that claim to have ideas of what we should do.  we become our own judges and we judge everything.

    i just came out of an american literature class in which different classmates, in a Christian institution no less, put forward judgments against one of the greatest minds America has ever known, Jonathan Edwards.  Some were legitimate but most seemed to me to be ill-informed judgments.  We didn't like parts of his message and so we've thrown him out - yet in doing so we miss out on the greatest, if not the only, pre-Revolutionary American philosopher.  i feel a hub coming on so i'll cut this off here smile

    1. sannyasinman profile image61
      sannyasinmanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Isn't there a song about that . .
      I, I, I, feel a hub comin' on,
      I, I, I, feel a hub comin' on . .
      It's an old one (but then I'm an old guy), perhaps you don't know it?

  22. I*n*v*i*c*t*u*s profile image60
    I*n*v*i*c*t*u*sposted 14 years ago

    Uh-hmmm...I was wondering about this avatar... BTW ~ It is Thursday... wink ~ Thanks for the toxic update...lol

  23. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    Haha, yes, I just discovered my error. I reckon I am oldt. Forgetful too. Oh well, I'll just leave it there. sheesh! Already on my way to gettin drunk tho'.

  24. I*n*v*i*c*t*u*s profile image60
    I*n*v*i*c*t*u*sposted 14 years ago

    LOL. I believe you tipped the bottle last Thursday, thinking it was Friday as well... have fun now, ya' here!! lol big_smile

  25. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    I seem to be in the habit of rushing into Fridays. LOL Who needs them, any day is good to get drunk as well as die!

    1. I*n*v*i*c*t*u*s profile image60
      I*n*v*i*c*t*u*sposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      LOL..I believe the song states 'get drunk and screw'...maybe that leads to death, not sure...yet a nice way to fly..lol smile

  26. profile image0
    rednckwmnposted 14 years ago

    my friday starts on tuesday. so? Im grinning...

  27. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    So you start drinking on Tues. wink

    1. profile image0
      rednckwmnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      sometimes
      pink...its the new black
      30... its the new 20
      Tuesday..its the new Friday
      nobodies here to complain

      1. profile image0
        bloodnlatexposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        I'm game.  Now I just have to convince my boss.

  28. profile image0
    bloodnlatexposted 14 years ago

    How does your Friday start on Tuesday?  I think someone just likes to start drinking early

    1. profile image0
      rednckwmnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Genius...lets start drinking early!!!  wink

  29. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    Give him some too.

  30. profile image0
    ralwusposted 14 years ago

    I'm here. Lookin' for you.

    1. profile image0
      rednckwmnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      lookin' for who?

  31. lrohner profile image68
    lrohnerposted 14 years ago

    Of course old people get wiser. They have more life experiences to draw upon. It's their mental and physical health and current life situation that determines how they choose to act upon that experience. (If they have the ability to choose...)

  32. Sue Adams profile image95
    Sue Adamsposted 14 years ago

    Like so many of you said, it depends on the individual. My mum learned to handle the Internet at 90. Now she's nearly a hundred and we skype regularly. Use it or lose it. Is she wiser than when she was young? Of course she is. Yet some folks turn 50 and say: "Hhmm, I'm getting old now!" Ans they start moaning and saying everything was better in the good old days. Those are the old biggots you want to stay away from. One thing is sure: If you are lucky enough to live to a ripe old age, then you are going to be old for a lot longer than you were young, so you better get used to the idea.

  33. profile image0
    sneakorocksolidposted 14 years ago

    You learn to navigate according to the toilets along the way that would expand your knowledge base.

 
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