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"Retirement Makes You Stupid"
Old 05-09-2011, 03:01 PM   #1
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"Retirement Makes You Stupid"

This one is a real jewel:

Economist Todd Buchholz in his book "Rush," says retirement makes you stupid. "When people retire early they lose IQ points."

"Human beings need stress in their lives".

Retirement Makes You Stupid, Author Says - MarketWatch Video

From Amazon:
Quote:
... in this provocative book, Todd Buchholz will convince you that what you really want is to chase your tail-even if you never catch it.
Not a chance...
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Old 05-09-2011, 03:21 PM   #2
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there are a few studies that document this phenomenon.

use it or lose it applies to your (other) noodle too !
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Old 05-09-2011, 03:33 PM   #3
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I believe our capabilities atrophy if we don't use them. And it probably is a mistake to retire early if all you're going to do is sit and watch T.V. all day. But there are plenty of ways to challenge yourself without having to let someone else call the shots.

There are also plenty of studies showing deleterious health effects for people working long hours. Apparently Mr. Buchholz thinks the goal is to maintain peak mental acuity so you can fully appreciate the heart attack that claims your life.

Instead, I think I'll take my chances that things like figuring out new environments every week and how to communicate in languages I don't speak will be enough mental stress to keep me sharp.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:07 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Economist Todd Buchholz in his book "Rush," says retirement makes you stupid. "When people retire early they lose IQ points."
Whut kin you git with them thar points anyhow?

Eh...never mind, the only 'test' I care to take these days is dipping my toe in the water to make sure it's just right.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:17 PM   #5
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Sounds like sour grapes to me.

From everything I have heard, the best thing you can do for your brain is take care of your body. Exercise and good food. Low stress is in there somewhere as well.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:18 PM   #6
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Since I was bored by the lack of intellectual challenge at work, I don't think I lost much by retiring. There are plenty of ways to stimulate the "little grey cells" outside of a professional setting.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:22 PM   #7
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Stupidity is under-rated.

I spent at least 18 hours watching Tampa Bay Rays baseball in the last few weeks. That is more baseball than I have watched since I was 9. I know the batting order, approximate batting averages, and numerous personal anecdotes about most of the players. Sounds really stupid, I guess.

But what do you think is the first topic of conversation these days when the kids phone home? My DW, not a long-time baseball fan, now knows what an ERA is, what it means to have runners in scoring position. She knows a slider from a fastball, and knows my dislike of the designated hitter rule. She knows that I think I know more than the coaches and managers most of the time, and also knows I'm not to be taken seriously.

Our latest ritual is to watch a day game, and a big portion of guacamole appears in the 6th inning with a nice cold Negra Modelo.

Sure miss the smart old days. Not. Sure hope I can find lots of other ways to get stupid.

P.S. I even got to keep a few reminders of when I used to be smart, by volunteering in a charity clinic a couple of times a month. The patients are grateful, the students are entertaining and challenging, and I am superman because I work for free. My younger (and presumably smarter) still-working colleagues are the only ones with furrowed faces, rushing for no particular reason, whining about the latest bit of paperwork inserted by others into their daily duties.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:24 PM   #8
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Moderation in all things. I'm convinced you indeed 'use it or lose it' with your mind like your muscles. I plan to stay active to keep my mind stimulated, just not with the inevitable pointless issues and false "emergencies" that some loser schmuck at work dreamed up...
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:26 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
Stupidity is under-rated.

I spent at least 18 hours watching Tampa Bay Rays baseball in the last few weeks. That is more baseball than I have watched since I was 9. I know the batting order, approximate batting averages, and numerous personal anecdotes about most of the players. Sounds really stupid, I guess.

But what do you think is the first topic of conversation these days when the kids phone home? My DW, not a long-time baseball fan, now knows what an ERA is, what it means to have runners in scoring position. She knows a slider from a fastball, and knows my dislike of the designated hitter rule. She knows that I think I know more than the coaches and managers most of the time, and also knows I'm not to be taken seriously.

Our latest ritual is to watch a day game, and a big portion of guacamole appears in the 6th inning with a nice cold Negra Modelo.

Sure miss the smart old days. Not. Sure hope I can find lots of other ways to get stupid.

P.S. I even got to keep a few reminders of when I used to be smart, by volunteering in a charity clinic a couple of times a month. The patients are grateful, the students are entertaining and challenging, and I am superman because I work for free. My younger (and presumably smarter) still-working colleagues are the only ones with furrowed faces, rushing for no particular reason, whining about the latest bit of paperwork inserted by others into their daily duties.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:26 PM   #10
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Yeah, well I'd rather be stupid than have a heart attack or stroke working.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:42 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
This one is a real jewel:

Economist Todd Buchholz in his book "Rush," says retirement makes you stupid. "When people retire early they lose IQ points."
I haven't read the book so I am speculating about his findings, but I would expect that early retirees as a group lose a statistically significant few IQ points or are a few IQ points lower than an otherwise demographically similar group of their working peers. Most early retirees retire early due to loss of job or disability. That makes them different and not surprisingly leads to a lower IQ. We, on the other hand, are a rarity - ERs who worked to achieve our status. We are a lot smarter than the average worker, let alone early retiree.
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Old 05-09-2011, 04:46 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by donheff View Post
Most early retirees retire early due to loss of job or disability. That makes them different and not surprisingly leads to a lower IQ. We, on the other hand, are a rarity - ERs who worked to achieve our status. We are a lot smarter than the average worker, let alone early retiree.
Pretty smart. Surprised a retired guy could come up with that.
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:03 PM   #13
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I really don't care if I get stupider as I age as long as I live long enough to say "Hold my beer and watch this!".
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:13 PM   #14
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I really don't care if I get stupider as I age as long as I live long enough to say "Hold my beer and watch this!".
Yep, even if it's the last thing you do...
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:22 PM   #15
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Here's a link to one of the references regarding ER and mental health. The article claims that brain function decline is not inevitable given mental use.

Mental Retirement


Note- I should tread a little easier on some of you now. That is now that I know that you are and have been impaired - I'll try to be more supportive of your condition.
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Old 05-09-2011, 05:26 PM   #16
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heh heh heh - to repeat -
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Old 05-09-2011, 07:02 PM   #17
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I was stuck in a bureacracy doing the same old same old, mostly in "hurry up and wait" mode. Everything was so confined and predictable. Talk about brain-drain!

In FIRE, I am finding my brain is more challenged by the variety of projects and activites that I plan and accomplish, with no interference from the cluster flies , and can actually see results in short order.

Sometimes I get lazy and do mindless things with no productive purpose, but you know what? It is MY choice to do so.
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Old 05-09-2011, 07:57 PM   #18
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I work part time doing computer programming. I still like the problem solving.

Work is actually not so bad now that I am no longer a manager.
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Old 05-09-2011, 10:11 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
This one is a real jewel:
Economist Todd Buchholz in his book "Rush," says retirement makes you stupid. "When people retire early they lose IQ points."
"Human beings need stress in their lives".
The presumption seems to be that the only reliable source of stress in this world is the workplace. I can believe that. However I'm not sure that I need to have the workplace give me more stress than I already have.

Seems to me the ratio of stupid:smart things that I did dropped precipitously after I retired-- by three or four orders of magnitude. I'm not sure how that correlates with a loss of IQ.

I'd rather be a stupid, unstressed ER than a smart, stressed economist. I'm sure that "publish or perish" doesn't contribute to his stress, either...
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Old 05-10-2011, 12:01 AM   #20
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