GammaGlobulin

I only referred to Trump, who famously and publicly bragged about the "cognitive-function test" he took, a few years ago, to prove the point that we need a better test for all American leaders...BEFORE...we go to the polls....Trump, Biden, etc., should all be thoroughly tested. Reagan should have been tested, for that matter. And, I, too, should be tested, even if I do not plan to run in 2024. We probably ALL should be tested, just for our own peace of mind, and maybe even for the possibility of treatment. But then, nobody ever wants to talk about their losing their minds...except..maybe, for people like me.

I think everybody here already knows my age; it's common knowledge. Periodic testing using a more detailed test, such as the Wechsler, can be useful. The test taken by Trump is a joke of a test, some say. Certainly, we should offer such testing for free to US presidents, and all congressmembers. Some of these guys, especially the prez, is living beyond my present year. This is also what keeps me up at night. What assurance do we have that he can even recall the nuclear codes in an emergency. It's always best to test first, and elect afterwards...There is too much to lose if we do not.

If you want to be super polite, and in Traditional Chinese: 我愛您

How many of us would wish to establish the rate of decline of our verbal memory? Of course, most of us would rather know than not know, maybe hoping that we might modify our behavior in order to slow the decline. But then, should we not first take some test, now, in order to establish a baseline? And then, periodically, we could re-test, and just see if we are declining as fast as we might fear? What test might be useful? I am toying with the idea of taking The Logical Memory (LM) subtest. This is the most frequently administered subtest in the Wechsler Memory Scale, the 4th edition (WMS-IV). I, like you, have taken the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) several times after reaching puberty, or almost puberty, as I first took this test when I was eleven, and I was sort of in the middle of becoming fully pubescent. But, as far as I know, this Logical Memory (LM) subtest might just be the ticket, for me. If you want a short blurb about this Memory Scale, then here is a link at ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/wechsler-memory-scale (This article is from 2010, but I guess it's still fairly valid, today.) My only question, now that I have decided to establish my baseline, is....WHERE can I have this test administered reliably in my city, in Thailand? I am now in the city overlooked by Doi Suthep. It's good, too, 'cause....tests like this are far cheaper to pay for here in Thailand, than if I were getting the same test in Manhattan, I would imagine. My unbiased belief is that I am declining far more slowly than I would have expected. Definitely, it would be a plus to take this test now, for baseline purposes, because...I really doubt that I will be able to score higher in coming years. So...yes...I will take this Wechsler Memory Scale, 4th edition, first chance I have. I have nothing to lose, and much to gain, through further insight into my aging process. Aging is normal, but it sometimes feels to me...abnormal. Not sure if you feel as I.

You are correct: The linguistic term, I guess, for mixing up languages is.... INTERFERENCE In other words, there is interference experienced by the learner when learning and speaking more than two languages. If one's native language is English, and one is using an L2 and an L3 that one has learned, then there is often interference experienced between L2 and L3, so that, for example, when speaking Thai, often one's generated utterances will include both Chinese and Thai. This is often annoying to the utterer, and most confusing to the listener. For the listener, it sometimes seems as if the utterer is almost speaking in tongues. How best to avoid this problem of interference between L2 and L3 is a mystery to me.

In the Original Post, I asked the question: "What's to be Done?" And unlike in a minority of my other topics, I am trying to rigidly adhere to the original question. And so, I have another warning for you old guys who are wannabe editors. Give a consideration to the joints and muscles in your hands, because, you just might exacerbate any existing symptoms of arthritis that you are experiencing during long typing sessions. I type about 65 words per minute on a good day. However, after 12 hours of solid typing for weeks on end, either my fingers become more limber, or they begin to ache. Sometimes, I even experience shooting pains in my thumbs, although I have never been stricken with carpal tunnel syndrome. Therefore, one must be confident that one's hands can go the distance, pounding away, day after day. The student is, during the thesis writing process, full of anxiety, and you must also help her to stay relatively calm in an encouraging and supportive way. You become even more important than her thesis advisor, IMHO. Obviously, so much can go wrong for the conscientious editor. And this remedy for our aging brains is a medicine only accessible to a very few of us. Still, it's worth it if one is confident in one's abilities. I have done over five full edits, and I have always sworn that the most recent edit has been my last. I now believe that my editing days are behind me. But you might be a more resilient editor than I, and you might be in need of some stimulation, especially if you are a high-sensation seeker. Good luck if you are among the willing.

A word of caution to readers here who might now be considering donating their time to helping an ESL-author edit her MA thesis for the purpose of slowing one's inevitable progress toward linguistic and cognitive decline: Helping an MA student in this final challenge of her degree is not a joking matter. You have her academic life in your hands, and you are the surgeon offering victory or doom. You absolutely CANNOT back out and change horses halfway through the race. You must see the edit through to the bitter end, like a true gunga-din, though you may die by a thousand cuts in the process. Also, even before the race begins, you will need to obtain approval from the headman of her village, the thesis advisor. This will involve showing your academic credentials in the form of a CV, or something. Therefore, it's always best to have some sort of advanced degree, like maybe an MA of your own, or even a PhD. Likewise, it's good to have experience in the students topic, and therefore one should have spent time at university studying both the Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences, maybe some Environmental Sciences, and the like. If you are the type of person who is slow to reach utter exasperation, then this is another important qualification. In my humble opinion, an MA-thesis edit is worth its weight in gold if one seeks to avert overly-rapid waning in the "brain department". But, again, so crucially, one must see the project to its final conclusion, the publishing of the final chapter. Many MA students are on their way toward writing a PhD dissertation, eventually, probably within another few years. And, you can even help her with her PhD thesis, too, if you live that long....

Dear Friends, When I was in my middle years, I knew my linguistic abilities were a-waxing. Now, in the twilight of my time on this orb, I finally must admit that the very thing that makes me human, my ability to use language, is gradually waning. Sometimes, I forget how to spell certain words. I no longer am able to so easily generate words I need to use. What is to be done with me, in such a state as this? Here is an example, for example: This word “externality”, I can never remember when I most need to use it. Sometimes, I must pause, mid-conversation, while I struggle to cough up this simple but useful word. How can I even carry on like this? What can I do to improve my word-generation facility? Sometimes we hear of those like Philip Roth, or even a Wouk, that could write lucidly with perfect paragraphs, even until the day before they kicked off. Do you feel sad, assuming you, too, are in my boat? For people like us, those who have superior intelligence, we can usually maintain our outward appearance of being fairly capable of writing coherent sentences, using appropriate vocabulary… But, then, when our time comes, we do not just lose our minds gradually, but our cognitive abilities just seem to drop off a cliff, and with little warning. According to research, it is the dumb person who loses his faculties gradually, though earlier in life. I had not given much thought to my cognitive decline in my youth, even though I did know that I was experiencing this waning, probably beginning in my early 20s. There really ought to be a pill one could swallow to solve this issue. I mean I do not mind living, and I am able to endure life pretty much as well as the next guy. I just don’t like the fact that some (most) of my cognitive functions have been continually and steadily declining, for decades. My math skills were somewhat still OK, up to my 60th year. I was able to manipulate math calculations in my head, without paper, pencil or abacus. But when I hit 68, it was as if I was solving these math problems in my head in slow-mo (slo-mo). Some days, I even feel like, one day, I may become the Marlon Brando character in the film, The Godfather, lying in a tomato patch, with some kid spraying me so lovingly. But, you know, Brando always mumbled. Brando might have had a speech impediment to begin with. So, what is to be done? Is there a fix for this? How much longer must we wait for a cure to our, commonly experienced, verbal warning problem? Regards as usual, Gamma

Dear Friends, I am just wondering about this question. For example: When I was 17, it was easy for me to satisfy a 50-Year-Old American woman, a friend of our family. She loved looking at my bod as I used a pickaxe to dig up tree-roots in her yard. She used to sit on her porch while watching me swing my pickaxe, and the Thud, Thud, THUD, of my pick as it buried itself in her lawn seemed ultimately fascinating and riveting, for her. She could not get enough of it. Anytime I was digging up her roots on her lawn, she would prepare a tall glass of iced tea, and sit on her porch, just watching me. She was not hot. But, she was not a virgin either. And, I thought that my digging around in her lawn might provide her with a bit of amusement. And, for sure, I knew what was going on, even if she did not. I would take off my shirt, in the month of July, and the sweat would roll down my torso. I had been a world-class rower at the time, and handling a pick for an hour was, by comparison, like fiddling with chopsticks, to me. When I was young, I enjoyed seeing this 50-Year-Old Mrs. Robinson leering at me, with her son sitting next to her, not having a clue. I guess this is why we guys, who have a very HIGH IQ do these things, just simply because we get bored in the month of July, when the Dog Days are not yet upon us. So, .... Now that I am 71, do you think I still have what it takes to satisfy a woman of 43? I have no idea what women think about me, actually... Maybe you can tell me. Regards, Gamma Note: By the way, after all that pounding on her lawn, digging up tree roots with a pickaxe, I finally asked this old lady to go for a ride in my MGB, on the Expressway, down to boathouse row, to see the lights. With the top down, going 80, she held my hand. Such a let down... TRULY!

Dear Friends, Nostalgically speaking, Hawaii was once the epitome of romance and luxury, sort of an exotic dream for many, a place of pineapples and volcanoes and missionaries. These days, you can go anywhere you like by hopping on a jet plane. Therefore, why do you choose to live in Thailand rather than to live in Hawaii? Is it the present-day culture of America that causes you to steer clear of these magnificent volcanic islands? Or, is it the culture of Thailand and the SE Asian food that keeps you here in one of the longest countries, north to south, on Earth? Thailand, these days, is not the same as it once was, 50 years ago, and therefore, much of the allure of Thailand has become diluted due to ever-intruding influences from the West. If Thailand, as is true of other countries, is becoming evermore westernized, then why not just live in Hawaii, an equally exotic place, at one time, which has now become totally taken over by western culture? As you can see... The guys above are very western. BUT, in Hawaii, the food is terrible. By contrast, the food in Thailand is AMAZING! And so, my friends.... In my opinion, one should come to Thailand, instead of Hawaii, if one wishes to witness a still-vibrant culture with amazing food from all around the world, a gastronomic delight, and an amalgam of all possible flavors and spices. What is your opinion, comparing Hawaii to Thailand? Is it not like comparing Pablum to Stir-fried Pumpkin? Even the lowliest dish in Thailand is worth two conch-shell-blowing guys in Hawaii. If you love Thai food as much as I do, Then, leaving Thailand is unthinkable. There are many other reasons why Thailand is far better than Hawaii, except maybe for just a short island hop. What are they? Other than the weather? Regards, GammaGlobbulin (sp)