There's been a lot of criticism from the far right about Biden being too old for another 4 year presidential term and of course MAGA people say Trump is 77 to Biden's 81. Biden was 78 when he became president which is actually the same age Trump would be IF he were elected.
The mental acuity of a person depends so much on the health of the person and genetics, I'm sure.
Case in point.
Art is 5 years older than me. I can't believe he'll be 80 this year. He jogs about 7 miles every Saturday and does everything he can to stay in shape along with keeping up with all the news, etc.
We like doing the Super Quiz at lunch every day. We do quite well actually.
However, when I saw Thursday's Subject: Mathematics, I told him to forget it! I have NEVER been good at Math. However, I'm quite good at 1st grade math and I could fool my class into thinking that I thought math was the greatest fun thing in the world.
Anyway... back to that Super Quiz.
"Stop!!!" I said. "You're making my brain hurt!"
Well... he just can't help himself. He wrote equations or whatever you call it until I could understand his explanations.
When it turned out that both my kids were quite adept at math, I was relieved that they took after their father.
The answers?
You really can't say a person is too old at 80. Some people's brains could be older at 75. And some people have far more integrity and dignity that other people. What kind of person do you want for president?
The only one that through me was number 9. I never did get that answer until looking at the solutions. But then, as an engineer, I nearly have a minor in math.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should write about memory and presidents the same time our current president is being lambasted by an independent council for his severe lack of memory. I think the news said he had been unable to remember when he started his first term or office and was several years off on the year of the death of his son. To answer your question though, I want somebody in there that can talk off the cuff and answer questions with authority. Although I don't think 80 is necessarily too old to be president, I want a president with more vigor and doesn't look fragile. I want a president who seems sane, can tell the truth (this is a big one these days) and knows the difference between a flat our lie and the truth. The dreamer in me would like a president willing to compromise and work with both sides and to not make every difference between the two political parties a skewed political headline to help them in the next election. I think regardless of how the election goes this next time, I'm going to be disappointed.
I agree that it was rather funny this post showed up here. I actually wrote it a week or two ago and had to reschedule it arbitrarily because I needed to add other more time appropriate posts first. And yes, of course, I agree with you completely that I would prefer the president I could respect for integrity, truthfulness and not trying to ruin the reputation of anyone with falsehoods who doesn't agree with him.
DeleteWe all think differently. Sue likes Connections and does better than I. Meanwhile, she doesn't see Sudoku well, while I get it pretty well.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Ed, who is a favourite blogger friend of mine, I will take a man who thinks well and gets good things done over a glib-talker. I would like to have Trump and Biden take the same IQ/cognitive test at the same time, and I know whom I'd bet on.
I'll take the one who is sane, thank you very much. We can rail against the status quo, and we can pick and find fault with both candidates, but the fact of the matter is that one of the fellows running is literally a lunatic. So...I will pick the other guy who may well have faults, but by god, the man is sane.
ReplyDeleteAny chance Art will run for President? He's my kind of 80, otherwise, I'd prefer a younger candidate!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Hi Bobi! I'd prefer a younger candidate too. In fact, I wanted Pete Buttigieg. But most of all, I want someone who knows right from wrong, who doesn't put down anybody who doesn't agree with him, and puts our country and the world ahead of his own ambitions.
DeleteI tend to think we should go for younger presidents... but when faced with what we have, I'd rather have someone I can respect and who had the Country's good at heart (Biden) than someone who scares the beejeebees out of me and seems only to want to destroy the freedoms this country has taken so long to establish.
ReplyDeleteYou did extremely well as these are tricky. More than that as we age we forget these things.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rian. I would also like someone younger but am terrified of Trump and what he intends to do to this country.
ReplyDeleteYou are the second of my online friends who have ranted about the ageism going on right now. You both have 80 year old husbands so I feel you are well qualified to provide a rant. Terry and I know people older than 80 who are still running multi-million dollar companies, designing buildings, and defending clients in courtrooms. Of course, they all have staff, as does the President.
ReplyDeleteI said, at the previous election between Hillary and Trump that I could not understand how they were able to stay up so late, travel so much, and remain very lucid. Terry said, "they have staff." That's when I realized that staff can make all the difference in the world.
I got number 1 right and stopped there!
ReplyDeleteI did the first few, no problem, then skipped to #8 and remembered I had encountered this one before. It took a few minutes to wrarp my brain around it, but then I got it. I don't use fancy equasions, algebra never worked for me. I just use simple arithmetic and trial and error. Nothing elegant about my math. Oh, and I an Art's age. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am appalled at the report from the special prosecutor who commented so inappropriately about Biden's memory. Most of us don't remember the year big things happened, but we remember all of the details.
Fun quiz! 8 and 9 got me. As for President, age doesn't really matter until they can function well. I actually like the dark horse who thinks independently.
ReplyDeleteSince Taylor Swift isn't running; I'm with Biden. I prefer folks who have some class, dignity, and know how to work with other people. As my Dad would say about the other guy: he's so uncouth. At least Biden has an excellent VP. Anyone wanting to be DJT's VP has been taking IV bleach. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWell, you KNOW I'm with you on this.
DeleteOne of many advantages of Biden is he knows how to gather smart people around him not "yes" people or worshippers like tRump.
ReplyDeleteI knew I was bad at math, but I only got the first one and then decided I shouldn't embarrass myself any further. I am the same exact age as Biden, and I know he's old. He is not crazy, though, and I will vote for him if he runs. The other one... Lordy I hope not!
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian, I should keep my mouth shut. But, honestly, can you not come up with a candidate better than either of those guys. Maybe brain acuity is fine, but I am 81 and I get tired of and by things very easily. I suspect that is why Biden stumbles. He is working and can't take the breaks he needs.
ReplyDeleteI went through a multiple step reasoning procedure to get number 8. Don was able to say the answer within seconds but he is a math person and I am definitely not. I couldn't for the life of me remember how to find the hypotenuse of a triangle -- not something I've had to think about since high school geometry.
ReplyDeleteI would quibble about the ninth problem because there are multiple logics that can be applied to come up with a solution. I think that the answer I came up with using a different logic is just as correct as the answer they came up with using their own logic. I got number 7 dead wrong though. I am pleased with my results, which in no way determine my educational capabilities, though. A fun post.
ReplyDeleteThere is big individual difference as to the brain working of the elderly. Math is logical thinking. When people make mistakes, they tend to misunderstand the meaning of each question. #9 is a riddle, right? I think a president must not be mentally unfit, impulsive, antisocial, aggressive, etc.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I understand why you thought “mizu-kami” is “water god” since “kami 神” means “god”. Currently the pond is written as 水上 literally meaning “on the water”. Both 神and上 are pronounced “kami”. The pond name seems to have changed over time.
Yoko
Thank you very much, Yoko. Since I do not know Japanese well at all, I probably would have read it kamiue. :-) My mother is the kanji expert since we worked for a Japanese language newspaper. And yes, I absolutely agree with you about presidents. Unfortunately there is a MAGA cult here in the US which is very troubling.
DeleteI showed this to Gregg and we have both had a fun time with the quiz. Gregg is excellent at math, me not so much. We went through every question which he explained to me, so thanks Kay, I still love learning. As for age, there is a real stigma about getting old. It shouldn't be that way but I have seen it over and over again. As for the questions that made headlines about our President's son, low blow!!! Disgusting! I lost my mother, father and my sister and if you asked me the year and date they passed on, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I fully believe it's a way of wrapping a protective shield around ourselves regarding these traumatic events. Unfortunately, people are going to believe what they want to believe and that will also never change. They believe they are right and we are wrong. It's going to be an interesting year to put it mildly.
ReplyDeleteIt's the world's most stressful job, but Biden by far is better capable of it. The GOP are the author of their own destruction by letting Trump turn them into his personality cult.
ReplyDelete