Thinking

One recent evening, we celebrated my youngest grandson’s second birthday. He’s an affable little fellow with tousled blond hair, bright eyes, and a quizzical expression.

He loves to run and jump. He’s talking in a steady stream of phrases now, some of which resemble a dialect the rest of us can comprehend. He loves to throw things.

At the party, he was clearly excited by all the visitors and presents and the general sense of excitement in the air. But when the biggest moment arrived, he seemed utterly perplexed.

When he was lifted into his seat and the singing started and the cake with two lit candles was placed before him, he just stared at it. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do next.

“I guess we forgot to brief him on his responsibilities as the birthday boy,” his Mom quipped.

With a little help from his friends, he figured it out. Mostly. Afterwards, he ran around person to person, singing out “Happy Birthday to you!”

***

At one time or another, we all face situations like my grandson did where we feel disoriented. If we are two years old when that happens, it’s to be expected and cute, but if we are more like 82, it can be frustrating and scary. And not funny at all.

The prospect of dementia among aging people is one of the most terrifying aspects of growing old. It’s one thing for your body to fall apart, your career to end, your possessions to be discarded, and too many of those you’ve treasured to pass away.

All of that is bad enough. But to realize that your mind may be drifting off into the fog must be the most terrifying thing of all. Despite this, I find myself joking about it at times, particularly when I am nervous. Like when I try to be entertaining.

But it is not a joke.

There is some hope, I’ve read, that medical science will find ways to stave off dementia in the not-too-distant future, but until then I suppose we’re all frightfully vulnerable. As for me, I guess my mental capacity is robust enough — for now — that when I make those jokes about myself, apparently they don’t ring true.

Like the other day when one of my sons told me, “Dad, I don’t think you ave to worry too much about dementia. If anything you may have the opposite problem.”

Oh dear.

LINKS:

• Pence subpoenaed by special counsel investigating Trump (CNN)

• The Complete Guide to Memory review: How we remember and how we forget (New Scientist)

• The Brain Works Like a Resonance Chamber (Neuroscience News)

• New bird brain study shows evolving a big brain depends on having ‘good’ parents (The Conversation)

• Chinese spy balloon contained technology to monitor communication signals, US says (CNN)

• China Sends Spy Balloons Over Military Sites Worldwide, U.S. Officials Say (NYT)

• Chinese surveillance balloon part of massive program over 5 continents: Blinken (ABC)

• Cold, hunger, despair grip homeless as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 19,000 (Reuters)

• Single Mistake By Google's Chatbot 'Bard' Costs Alphabet $100 Billion Loss (NDTV)

• ChatGPT: The friendly face of your AI replacement (New Atlas)

• ChatGPT Can Be Broken by Entering These Strange Words, And Nobody Is Sure Why (Vice)

• Microsoft Goes After Google With AI-Boosted Search. Here's How to Try It for Yourself (CNET)

• Massive tech company layoffs look ugly. But it may not be as bad as you think. (USA Today)

• Zoom was a pandemic darling. Now it’s part of the tech layoffs wave. (WP)

• Chinese state media, AI companies warn of risks in ChatGPT stock frenzy (Reuters)

• How to Stop AI From Eating Journalism (In These Times)

• Disinformation Researchers Raise Alarms About A.I. Chatbots (NYT)

• Focused on 2024, Biden sees opportunity in GOP-held Florida (AP)

• Social Security, Medicare brawl awaits Washington, even if not this year (WP)

• House Oversight panel requests records from Hunter Biden and James Biden (CBS)

• Is the Republican Party going to regret letting Marjorie Taylor Greene act like that? (Independent)

• An all-white school board in Sarasota, Florida, debated the fate of a book about antiracism during Black History Month. Members decided to keep the book in schools, but to require parental notification for it to be checked out. This is the result of a combination of anti-Blackness, book banning, and the rise of far-right political activists grabbing local power across Florida, inspired by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “anti-woke” agenda. Educators are feeling the brunt of this, with some feeling "scared to death." [HuffPost]

• Joe Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Hopes Receive Supreme Court Blow (Newsweek)

• Frozen Afghan Funds Have Done Little to Sway Taliban (WSJ)

• Global Warming Could Expose About 15 Million People to the Risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods: Study (Weather Channel)

• Greta Thunberg's 'The Climate Book' urges world to keep climate justice out front (NPR)

• Thanks to covid, half of kids were below grade level in at least one subject (WP)

• Video Game Playing Causes No Harm to Young Children’s Cognitive Abilities (Neuroscience News)

• Raising sons is so draining, orca moms struggle to have more kids, study says (WP)

• NASA Social Media Manager Considers Himself Part Of Team (The Onion)