Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, writes for The Wall Street Journal about how the Internet of Things will impact retirement. “While high-tech will provide incredible benefits, it will also bring new costs, both financial and social, that should be considered as a new part of retirement planning.”
Olga Khazan writes for The Atlantic about research by post-doctoral fellow Josh Hartshorne that indicates that different kinds of cognitive abilities peak at different ages. “Four types of proficiencies didn’t fully ripen until people were in their 50s: vocabulary, math, general knowledge, and comprehension,” Khazan explains.
Benedict Carey reports for The New York Times on how MIT researchers have found that different portions of human intelligence peak at different ages. The researchers found that while an older brain may move slower than a younger one, it is “just as accurate in many areas and more adept at reading others’ moods — on top of being more knowledgeable.”
Carey Goldberg reports for WBUR on a new study coauthored by MIT researchers that examines how cognitive abilities change with age. Goldberg explains that the researchers found that “various pieces of our intelligence or cognitive ability peak at various times in our lives.”
Scientists from MIT and MGH have found that while certain brain functions decline with age, others, like vocabulary skills, peak later in life, reports Kay Lazar for The Boston Globe. The researchers found that "the ability to reason, learn, and recall information ebbs and flows over our lifespan.”
Julie Lee writes for The Huffington Post about a recent study conducted by the MIT AgeLab and The Hartford Financial Services Group to determine the top technologies for drivers over 50. “The study looked at how well technologies meet the unique needs, concerns and priorities of experienced drivers,” Lee writes.
MIT Age Lab Director Joseph Coughlin writes for The Wall Street Journal about some of the potential pitfalls of early retirement. “[B]efore you retire, do some careful planning that goes well beyond financial security,” writes Coughlin. “What will you be pursuing to give you a daily sense of purpose?”
Richard Eisenberg of Forbes writes about a symposium hosted by the MIT AgeLab, which explored the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia on financial planning. The symposium “brought together a broad spectrum of experts ranging from Alzheimer’s Association execs to neurology professors to financial advisers to people who have early onset Alzheimer’s or are married to them,” writes Eisenberg.
“In an ironic generational twist, the children of Baby Boomers are proving more inclined to turn to their grandparents for advice -- at least when it comes to learning about managing money and saving for the future,” writes Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, in an op-ed for The Huffington Post.
The BBC reports on a suit developed by the MIT AgeLab that simulates the aging process and the physical difficulties that come with age. The suit is designed to give young people a better idea of the challenges faced by the elderly.
Writing for Reuters, Mark Miller explores how robots may soon be used to care for aging members of the population. Miller highlights Professor Cynthia Breazeal’s work developing robots that can make social and emotional connections to people.