Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-24-2020, 07:05 PM   #101
Moderator Emeritus
Bestwifeever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
On Wednesday I overheard a table of people my age (on the cusp of 70) talking about today’s education systems and one said, “When I was in high school....” I have to say, I thought about just who would find her thoughts relevant? Not even the people she was talking to seemed at all interested.
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Bestwifeever is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-24-2020, 08:23 PM   #102
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
“I’ve got your irrelevant right here!”

IMG_0661.JPG
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire

...not doing anything of true substance...
HFWR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-24-2020, 08:28 PM   #103
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 6,002
The millennials that are my grandchildren will profit from my relevance. It's my money that will allow them to take a more positive direction in life than they ever will without their inheritance.

And if they take a big detour or go backwards in life, we can always make our moneys take a big detour--to other heirs.
Bamaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-24-2020, 09:14 PM   #104
Recycles dryer sheets
NoMoreJob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 410
I only care about being relevant to the people I care about.
NoMoreJob is offline   Reply With Quote
What is meant when people say an old person "becomes irrelevant"?
Old 01-24-2020, 09:20 PM   #105
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 249
What is meant when people say an old person "becomes irrelevant"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bestwifeever View Post
On Wednesday I overheard a table of people my age (on the cusp of 70) talking about today’s education systems and one said, “When I was in high school....” I have to say, I thought about just who would find her thoughts relevant? Not even the people she was talking to seemed at all interested.

Seniors think that their opinions are supposed to be important. They like to give their opinion despite not being asked

Seniors are stereotypically grumpy, anti-social, and dismissive of any generation but their own. They prove this over and over
nancyfrank232 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-24-2020, 09:23 PM   #106
Administrator
Gumby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,923
Irony is dead.
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
Gumby is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-24-2020, 09:41 PM   #107
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Calico's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,911
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby View Post
Irony is dead.
Indeed it is.
__________________
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus
Calico is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-24-2020, 10:00 PM   #108
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 37,931
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby View Post
Irony is dead.
Looks like it’s alive and well to me!
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 03:46 AM   #109
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Nemo2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1 View Post
Looks like it’s alive and well to me!
Pining for the fjords.
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."

The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
Nemo2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 04:26 AM   #110
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Odenton
Posts: 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwraigty View Post
Agree.
+1


Although interesting how being a 'boomer' seems to have such negative connotation. I'm a 'young boomer' and can make my way around computers, software, and believe I keep up with the times socially and politically. Well, as best I can. I listen to my old Rock tunes as well as tunes from this generation - as an example.

I'm a landlord now and notice some of my young tenants couldn't care less how to fix anything in the house. Maybe that's everyone of all ages but I find it interesting. Being interested in fixing things will help anyone in the houses they own later on. And it seems quite hard these days to find a decent handyman I can depend on. And maybe that's always been like that, I don't know. But it seems to me we'll have to import more skilled labor in the future since not many here are interested in that path. Society changes I guess.
scottpush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 07:59 AM   #111
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Valley of the Sun
Posts: 634
I have noticed this on several forums also. Usually the age of those saying it is in their 40's (like one of the prolific posters above). They realize that they themselves are rapidly becoming irrelevant and think that by criticizing those even older than them they can signal, "Look at me, even though I am 47, I am not like all the others." But they are. In fact, they may be worse.
Turbo29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 08:58 AM   #112
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 504
As you age, you do take on personality/brain changes. There were some studies about this on susceptibility to fraud/scams (though those changes maybe not relevant to this topic). I can attest to my personal experience with my parents.

I have a few friends who are twice my age. One of them got me into computers 20+ years ago - I never said all old people are bad with computers, just gave one specific example where someone was complaining that current generation didn’t learn a low/no demand skill when in reality that learning time was likely replaced with learning a high demand skill.

I never generalized that all old people are ‘irrelevant’ but I think at some point as you age, they are more forceful and open about sharing their experience. Maybe when younger people do that, their experience is always more recent (aka relevant) just because of their age. So it would make sense that someone saying “when I was in high school” is more relevant from a 20 year old than it is from a 70 year old - even though they are doing the same thing.
pj.mask is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 09:35 AM   #113
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
target2019's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: On a hill in the Pine Barrens
Posts: 9,669
This thread reminds me how easy it is to label one another. A very long time ago I recall sitting in a training room, discussing the labelling issue with the training manager. Since we were there trying to enable new technology, I thought the training would be well received. The manager was quite wiser, and explained to me how everyone working for the company was quick to categorize others. When we came across an instance, we'd motion to our head as if stamping a label on our forehead.
target2019 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 09:46 AM   #114
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Beaverton
Posts: 1,382
Quote:
Originally Posted by nancyfrank232 View Post
Seniors think that their opinions are supposed to be important. They like to give their opinion despite not being asked

Seniors are stereotypically grumpy, anti-social, and dismissive of any generation but their own. They prove this over and over


Hmmmmm
__________________
Jump in, the water's warm.
Bir48die is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 11:35 AM   #115
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Odenton
Posts: 71
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bir48die View Post
Hmmmmm

+1
scottpush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 12:12 PM   #116
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: West Plains
Posts: 150
I wonder if by "irrelevant," they mean "not easily persuaded by flimsy argument."

I hated seeing my favorite detective show, Major Crimes, cancelled a few years ago. Most of the main characters were Boomers, and still sharp, active and involved in full romantic lives. It was the network's top rated show, but they cancelled it because they wanted something "edgier."

Turns out, they wanted something that draws viewer who are more likely to respond to their advertisers. While Boomers have plenty of discretionary spending power, we're less likely to be influenced than younger viewers.

No wonder TV has become such a mindless wasteland.
Maidensong is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 12:18 PM   #117
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 249
Quote:
Originally Posted by pj.mask View Post
As you age, you do take on personality/brain changes. There were some studies about this on susceptibility to fraud/scams (though those changes maybe not relevant to this topic). I can attest to my personal experience with my parents.

I have a few friends who are twice my age. One of them got me into computers 20+ years ago - I never said all old people are bad with computers, just gave one specific example where someone was complaining that current generation didn’t learn a low/no demand skill when in reality that learning time was likely replaced with learning a high demand skill.

I never generalized that all old people are ‘irrelevant’ but I think at some point as you age, they are more forceful and open about sharing their experience. Maybe when younger people do that, their experience is always more recent (aka relevant) just because of their age. So it would make sense that someone saying “when I was in high school” is more relevant from a 20 year old than it is from a 70 year old - even though they are doing the same thing.

+10

Exactly

Many seniors don’t have the wisdom to recognize this. That’s why they keep doing it
nancyfrank232 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 12:48 PM   #118
Moderator Emeritus
Bestwifeever's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
Quote:
Originally Posted by pj.mask View Post
As you age, you do take on personality/brain changes. There were some studies about this on susceptibility to fraud/scams (though those changes maybe not relevant to this topic). I can attest to my personal experience with my parents.

I have a few friends who are twice my age. One of them got me into computers 20+ years ago - I never said all old people are bad with computers, just gave one specific example where someone was complaining that current generation didn’t learn a low/no demand skill when in reality that learning time was likely replaced with learning a high demand skill.

I never generalized that all old people are ‘irrelevant’ but I think at some point as you age, they are more forceful and open about sharing their experience. Maybe when younger people do that, their experience is always more recent (aka relevant) just because of their age. So it would make sense that someone saying “when I was in high school” is more relevant from a 20 year old than it is from a 70 year old - even though they are doing the same thing.
I don't mind the reminiscing and may indulge in it myself at times ; being relevant imo means being able to relate the olden days to today, to listen and interpret something through the lens of experience rather than holding a mirror up to one's self as if that is the end all, and to pick up on social cues. This potential "irrelevance" is certainly not limited to seniors as has been somewhat rudely put forth and ironically exemplified elsewhere on this thread (not by you). But not all of us are interested in being relevant at whatever age--sitting back quietly while listening might be a good thing. I rarely learn something when I am the one talking.

Speaking of listening--I was seated a couple of months ago in a noisy restaurant next to someone a couple years older than I who pretty much dominated our conversation. As the dinner wound down, he mentioned that his hearing aids were not working properly. I think in some cases "seniors" with hearing loss might come across as irrelevant when actually there is a simple communication problem.
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Bestwifeever is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 01:18 PM   #119
Moderator Emeritus
aja8888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,593
Quote:
Originally Posted by nancyfrank232 View Post
Seniors think that their opinions are supposed to be important. They like to give their opinion despite not being asked

Seniors are stereotypically grumpy, anti-social, and dismissive of any generation but their own. They prove this over and over
It seems you are repeating yourself quite a bit. (like a s_____r person would)
__________________
*********Go Astros!*********
aja8888 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-25-2020, 01:35 PM   #120
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Calico's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,911
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bestwifeever View Post
I don't mind the reminiscing and may indulge in it myself at times ; being relevant imo means being able to relate the olden days to today, to listen and interpret something through the lens of experience rather than holding a mirror up to one's self as if that is the end all, and to pick up on social cues. This potential "irrelevance" is certainly not limited to seniors as has been somewhat rudely put forth and ironically exemplified elsewhere on this thread (not by you). But not all of us are interested in being relevant at whatever age--sitting back quietly while listening might be a good thing. I rarely learn something when I am the one talking.

Speaking of listening--I was seated a couple of months ago in a noisy restaurant next to someone a couple years older than I who pretty much dominated our conversation. As the dinner wound down, he mentioned that his hearing aids were not working properly. I think in some cases "seniors" with hearing loss might come across as irrelevant when actually there is a simple communication problem.
While reading this thread I once again gave silent thanks to whomever decided the forum should have an "ignore" feature. It's a wonderful little button.
__________________
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus
Calico is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
becoming irrelevant, old age, relevance


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Morning person with night person Scuba Life after FIRE 26 07-04-2016 03:58 PM
Are you a private person or a people person? easysurfer Other topics 95 11-23-2010 09:01 PM
Would you live in a place you didn't like if it meant you could FIRE? Kathryn48 Life after FIRE 66 07-18-2008 12:58 PM
@ age 25 I had no clue what "retire" even meant mickeyd FIRE and Money 1 06-24-2006 11:26 AM
Intelligence is irrelevant to a happy old age Jay_Gatsby Life after FIRE 70 07-24-2005 01:00 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:27 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.