[zmb_]

Actually it's 25. Around that time your neuroplasticity changes and it becomes a lot harder to learn new things. You still can, but it takes much more effort and deliberate protocols to follow.

Prof. Andrew Huberman from Stanford University School of Medicine has some great podcast episodes on this (among other interesting things) [0].

[0] https://hubermanlab.com/

[wiz21c]

I'm studying data science at engineer level (so the top level in my country), probabilities, neural nets, tons of maths, I'm 48.

> You still can, but it takes much more effort and deliberate protocols to follow.

is absolutely true, words for words :-)

[nomad225]

>> You still can, but it takes much more effort and deliberate protocols to follow.

>is absolutely true, words for words :-)

Do you follow a specific protocol or method for learning these days? And compared to when you were learning something when you were younger, do you find it more challenging (even with the protocol)?

[wiz21c]

My general health is not very good and age has effect. Basically, memorizing is much harder. I need about 3x more time to memorize. Moreover, in the past I could memorize some stuff "by heart" but now it's almost impossible so the consequence is that I have to understand every single bit of information I learn. That needs a lot of work. So I need to work a lot more and plan a lot more than when I was young. Moreover, when I was young I was a top 10% student and without too much work. Things have changed and I had to realize and accept it :-)

Being older has its advantages : when working with young students, I can influence groups to go in the good direction (before I was more of a follower). Also, since I've chosen to study again, I'm 100% clear on what I do. This translates to studying very seriously (I'm not distracted by the web, tv, etc. except HN of course :-) ). The professors have also lost a bit of their charisma, so I don't fear them any more.

The life/studies balance is a bit tough sometimes but fortunately my family is very supportive. This is really important because when the work load is high (say, work 12 hours/per day for several days), the kids, my wife start missing me. I also most often refuses socializing 'cos it takes time and energy. All in all, they show a lot of patience.

The hardest part for me is the stress of the exams. Before I was (over) confident in my ability to succeed, now I'm not at all, so it's stressful. Also, I sit in front of my courses for long hours and it has real effects on my muscles. It's difficult to maintain physical activity when under pressure.

So my protocol is simple : I work 5 days a week, about 10 hours per day. Saturday is off, no matter what. Sunday I work only 7-8 hours. I do my best to be in bed before 11pm; I start working before 9:00. I do my best to have a 40 minutes walk 3-4 times per week. I try not to spend time in front of my computer when not needed (I don't spend hours tuning emacs or Debian any more :-)). I try to read 15-30 min. before sleep. The rest of the time is for family, preparing diner, dishes. So basically, I don't have personal leasure time anymore (but since I like studying, it's not much of a problem).

All in all, it's doable if you can afford to stop working the time needed (2 years in my case). But you need lots of discipline and a supportive family 'cos your brain has definitely aged...

[AQuantized]

The change is gradual however. You don't wake up one day at 25 having drastically changed neuroplasticity overnight. Being healthy and in shape also seems to be important, as well as continuing to learn new skills and engage in novel activities.