Linguistically Speaking: Are Your Verbal Skills, These Days, Steadily Waning? What’s to be Done?

[Lacessit]

10 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Is it possible that regular administration of vitamin D3 might be beneficial in slowing the advance of cognitive decline, as well as memory-loss related diminished linguistic abilities?

 

One of the most recently-famous UTUBE personalities, a proponent of the benefits of D3, speaks to us again.

 

 

Thailand is a very sunny place.  However, most people stay indoors.  And, when they venture out into the hot sun, they wear protective clothing which limits exposure to vitamin-D producing UVB radiation. Some studies show that, even in Thailand, a significant number of the population may have reduced vitamin D serum levels. Please google these studies at your leisure.

 

Personally, since the virus first visited most of the world, I have been ingesting a conservative daily dose of vitamin D3. But, maybe that's just me. I don't go out in the noonday sun, much, à la Kipling.  So, I figure a vitamin D3 supplement cannot hurt.  And, to counteract any resultant bone loss, I take a bit of K2, as well.

 

I never take megadoses of anything.

 

I have done a bit of research on vitamin D3, and I like what I have read

But, that's just me.

 

I am no vitamin supplement freak.  However, multivitamins, such as Centrum Silver (not the formula by this name offered in Thailand, I think) seems to be OK. And, I add one Centrum pill, which is quite large, and not so easy to swallow, though not as big as a horse pill.

 

For me, I see no downside to this low-cost regimen.

 

So far, my memory has only deteriorated slightly during the past three years of lockdowns and self-imposed isolation.

 

I will continue to read more about the affects of D3 in future published research.

I find this research interesting.

 

 

IIRC, Dr. John Campbell also extolled the benefits of ivermectin as a COVID treatment without any peer-reviewed evidence, which makes him another ratbag IMO. I suppose if he proffers opinions on enough topics, statistically he should hit the target every so often. Thus it is with D3.

 

Your family history is a guide. My mother and father still had all their marbles when they died, both at age 83.

There is evidence coming out the brains of Alzheimer patients are deficient in magnesium, so I take magnesium supplements regularly.

[GammaGlobulin]

10 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I have made every effort to learn Thai, because mental exercise is one of the most recommended ways of warding off Alzheimers.

I do agree.

 

Also, I maintain that turning 150 pages of jabberwocky-gibberish, usually found in an ESL-authored MA thesis, into perfectly written paragraphs is even more of a mental exercise than learning passa Thai, which is a piece of cake by comparison.

 

Or, maybe, doing both would be best.

 

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

9 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

IIRC, Dr. John Campbell also extolled the benefits of ivermectin as a COVID treatment without any peer-reviewed evidence, which makes him another ratbag IMO. I suppose if he proffers opinions on enough topics, statistically he should hit the target every so often. Thus it is with D3.

 

Your family history is a guide. My mother and father still had all their marbles when they died, both at age 83.

There is evidence coming out the brains of Alzheimer patients are deficient in magnesium, so I take magnesium supplements regularly.

I am not here offering my opinion about Campbell.

I am only mentioning that I find various studies involving intake of vitamin D3 to be interesting.

Then, one draws one's own conclusions.

 

Maybe, too, Campbell has sometimes been confused by his reliance on metastudies/meta-analyses.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[GammaGlobulin]

12 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

IIRC, Dr. John Campbell also extolled the benefits of ivermectin as a COVID treatment without any peer-reviewed evidence, which makes him another ratbag IMO. I suppose if he proffers opinions on enough topics, statistically he should hit the target every so often. Thus it is with D3.

 

Your family history is a guide. My mother and father still had all their marbles when they died, both at age 83.

There is evidence coming out the brains of Alzheimer patients are deficient in magnesium, so I take magnesium supplements regularly.

Speaking of aging and marbles: My grandfather kicked off at 95, my aunt is still alive at over 100, my father died at 93, all with all their marbles. My mother died at 94 with some form of dementia setting in during her late 80s.

 

But then, just because one has all their marbles does not mean that one is not crazy.

You must realize, by now, that we are all crazy.

 

[GinBoy2]

My major problem as I age is separating my my two native languages.

 

English and Spanish have swirled around in my head since I was a kid.

 

Today I will have instances where I know should be speaking English and vice versa where I just blurt out in the wrong language.

 

My two daughters are also bilingual and we often swap languages as we talk.

 

My Thai son doesn't speak Spanish, and I have to catch myself sometimes.

 

He will sometimes speak to me in Thai, Lao or Mandarin, just because he knows I need to focus on learned languages, and my frontal lobes take over

[stoner]

6 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Rather than buying unproven treatments

unproven ? 

 

you may want to read some more. 

[Lacessit]

10 minutes ago, stoner said:

unproven ? 

 

you may want to read some more. 

You'd be surprised how many dodgy  papers are out there, masquerading as research. Academics use the phrase "publish or perish" for a reason.

 

[Lacessit]

58 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Speaking of aging and marbles: My grandfather kicked off at 95, my aunt is still alive at over 100, my father died at 93, all with all their marbles. My mother died at 94 with some form of dementia setting in during her late 80s.

 

But then, just because one has all their marbles does not mean that one is not crazy.

You must realize, by now, that we are all crazy.

 

My son is in a quandary. His father is compos mentis ( biased opinion ) and his mother has advanced Alzheimers, which started at 65. It's a genetic coin toss for him.

 

Kraepelin's definition comes to mind: " Paranoia is the development of a lasting, immovable delusional system, which is accompanied by the complete retention of clearness in thinking, willing and acting".

 

Of course I am crazy, I am responding to posters on ASEAN.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I do agree.

 

Also, I maintain that turning 150 pages of jabberwocky-gibberish, usually found in an ESL-authored MA thesis, into perfectly written paragraphs is even more of a mental exercise than learning passa Thai, which is a piece of cake by comparison.

 

Or, maybe, doing both would be best.

 

 

 

 

"A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits". ( Edith Sitwell )

[stoner]

57 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You'd be surprised how many dodgy  papers are out there, masquerading as research. Academics use the phrase "publish or perish" for a reason.

 

link please. and if that's the case what am i to make of covid then ? is it based of dodgy research too ? 

[save the frogs]

the usual suspects - junk food, sugar, etc ... will contribute to cognitive decline.

 

also, you may want to research the chinese herb gingko biloba ... it helps blood circulation, including circulation to the brain ... 

 

 

[herfiehandbag]

15 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

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.

I regard myself as reasonably well educated, with good written and verbal English Language skills. Quite erudite really; and with might I add, considerable enthusiasm and a keen appreciation of the proper place and roles of punctuation in the written language.

 

I have never heard of the word "externality"; I looked it up and discovered it applied to concepts ascribed to philosophy and economics.

 

I think you should face it, the "waning" you describe is a manifestation of age.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, stoner said:

link please. and if that's the case what am i to make of covid then ? is it based of dodgy research too ? 

One does not need a link. All anyone has to do is determine whether what has been published is peer-reviewed. If it's not.......

The statistics on COVID say an unvaccinated person is six times more likely to be seriously ill or die, than someone who has been vaccinated.

OTOH, anti-vaxxers routinely publish ridiculous claims, such as 19 Italian nuns dying of COVID after vaccination. If you are unable to detect the fatuity of said "research", I can't help you.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, herfiehandbag said:

I regard myself as reasonably well educated, with good written and verbal English Language skills. Quite erudite really; and with might I add, considerable enthusiasm and a keen appreciation of the proper place and roles of punctuation in the written language.

 

I have never heard of the word "externality"; I looked it up and discovered it applied to concepts ascribed to philosophy and economics.

 

I think you should face it, the "waning" you describe is a manifestation of age.

I am fond of words such as hermeneutics, thaumaturgy, and apodeictic, although they are difficult to work into normal conversation. I enjoy finding new obscure words, it's another form of mental exercise. I occasionally forget punctuation if I am in a hurry.

 

IMO the brain is the same as controlling arthritis, use it or lose it.

[stoner]

34 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

One does not need a link. All anyone has to do is determine whether what has been published is peer-reviewed. If it's not.......

The statistics on COVID say an unvaccinated person is six times more likely to be seriously ill or die, than someone who has been vaccinated.

OTOH, anti-vaxxers routinely publish ridiculous claims, such as 19 Italian nuns dying of COVID after vaccination. If you are unable to detect the fatuity of said "research", I can't help you.

oh that's how it works then. you make a claim and cannot back it up. 

 

i find it amusing that one science is sure sure but the other is debatable. that's laughable. 

 

stem cell. ghg. trt. these are not kook theories. these things are proven science. i am unable to help you if you can't see that. 

[worgeordie]

I find it's best just to keep your GOB shut....these posts by the OP seem

to be for his benefit ,as he posts in them more than anyone else, maybe

he has noone to chat too ,and his only connection to real people is to post

on here.......like me !

 

regards Worgeordie

 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, stoner said:

oh that's how it works then. you make a claim and cannot back it up. 

 

i find it amusing that one science is sure sure but the other is debatable. that's laughable. 

 

stem cell. ghg. trt. these are not kook theories. these things are proven science. i am unable to help you if you can't see that. 

I fail to see why I should go looking for links just to satisfy you. What did your last servant die of?

If you want to conflate stem cells, greenhouse gases and testosterone treatment into some weird conspiracy theory, be my guest. Given your nom-de-plume,

not surprising.

 

https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders

[stoner]

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I fail to see why I should go looking for links just to satisfy you. What did your last servant die of?

If you want to conflate stem cells, greenhouse gases and testosterone treatment into some weird conspiracy theory, be my guest. Given your nom-de-plume,

not surprising.

 

https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders

forum rules state when claims are made the op needs to back it up. not the other way around. 

 

what are you talking about green house gasses for ? o my. hgh is human growth hormones. 

 

the rest of your comment after that is nothing more than a personal attack. which is also supposed to not be allowed on this forum. 

 

conspiracy and greenhouse gases. wow not even close my friend. i am talking about real modern science. 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

My son is in a quandary. His father is compos mentis ( biased opinion ) and his mother has advanced Alzheimers, which started at 65. It's a genetic coin toss for him.

 

Kraepelin's definition comes to mind: " Paranoia is the development of a lasting, immovable delusional system, which is accompanied by the complete retention of clearness in thinking, willing and acting".

 

Of course I am crazy, I am responding to posters on ASEAN.

Compos mentis is a word my mother loved to use, beginning back in the 1930s, even though I believe neither she nor anyone in our family, with the exception of one (not I), my brother, was fully sane, if there is such a state.

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

6 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

I regard myself as reasonably well educated, with good written and verbal English Language skills. Quite erudite really; and with might I add, considerable enthusiasm and a keen appreciation of the proper place and roles of punctuation in the written language.

 

I have never heard of the word "externality"; I looked it up and discovered it applied to concepts ascribed to philosophy and economics.

 

I think you should face it, the "waning" you describe is a manifestation of age.

Actually, I am using the word externality in its literal sense to describe engaging in behavior which can likely lead to risk while knowing that one will never need to shoulder the burden of such risk.

 

An example might be the petroleum companies of today. The risk is global warming. However, who shall be burdened by this risk?  The oil companies will take the immediate profits, today.  And, the majority of the risk, which is an uninhabitable world, will be born by our children and our grandchildren. This is just one example of an externality.

 

BUT, I  am referring to the externality involved with my being born.  My parents did not consider the risk of such a risky proposition, and too few parents do.   My parent, probably mostly my mother, wanted only to see the benefits for her. She rarely, if ever, considered the many risks involved.  And, these risks are born, mostly, by our children.  Farm families, for example, tend to have larger families so that they can have little slaves to work on the farm. The children always bear the burden of most of the risk in being born, and NOT the parents.

 

Therefore, I consider my birth to be a perfect example of an externality, and I do not like externalities.

 

NOTE: As I mentioned previously, EXTERNALITY is a word that I never can remember, even if I might have used the word twice yesterday.  I must have some sort of mental block about this word.  Maybe there is something Freudian going on, and, in fact, this mental block concerning this single word has nothing to do with age.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[GammaGlobulin]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I find it's best just to keep your GOB shut....these posts by the OP seem

to be for his benefit ,as he posts in them more than anyone else, maybe

he has noone to chat too ,and his only connection to real people is to post

on here.......like me !

 

regards Worgeordie

 

You are correct.  I am trying to be more like you, even if you have not yet mentioned it.

 

Regards, Gamma

[mfd101]

I wonder if prolixity is a sign of cognitive decline.

[Lacessit]

57 minutes ago, stoner said:

forum rules state when claims are made the op needs to back it up. not the other way around. 

 

what are you talking about green house gasses for ? o my. hgh is human growth hormones. 

 

the rest of your comment after that is nothing more than a personal attack. which is also supposed to not be allowed on this forum. 

 

conspiracy and greenhouse gases. wow not even close my friend. i am talking about real modern science. 

 

If you go back to your original post, you typed ghg, not hgh. Which I took to mean Green House Gases. O my indeed.

I am not even sure what you are trying to say in your posts.

If you want to use the soubriquet "stoner" I consider I can draw conclusions from it.

Draw your own conclusions from the complete Latin phrase " Nemo me impune lacessit".

 

[Lacessit]

26 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Actually, I am using the word externality in its literal sense to describe engaging in behavior which can likely lead to risk while knowing that one will never need to shoulder the burden of such risk.

 

An example might be the petroleum companies of today. The risk is global warming. However, who shall be burdened by this risk?  The oil companies will take the immediate profits, today.  And, the majority of the risk, which is an uninhabitable world, will be born by our children and our grandchildren. This is just one example of an externality.

 

BUT, I  am referring to the externality involved with my being born.  My parents did not consider the risk of such a risky proposition, and too few parents do.   My parent, probably mostly my mother, wanted only to see the benefits for her. She rarely, if ever, considered the many risks involved.  And, these risks are born, mostly, by our children.  Farm families, for example, tend to have larger families so that they can have little slaves to work on the farm. The children always bear the burden of most of the risk in being born, and NOT the parents.

 

Therefore, I consider my birth to be a perfect example of an externality, and I do not like externalities.

 

NOTE: As I mentioned previously, EXTERNALITY is a word that I never can remember, even if I might have used the word twice yesterday.  I must have some sort of mental block about this word.  Maybe there is something Freudian going on, and, in fact, this mental block concerning this single word has nothing to do with age.

 

 

 

 

I can remember the words umbilical and architecture very easily. However, I always find myself casting about for the correct way to pronounce them.

[GammaGlobulin]

57 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

You are correct.  I am trying to be more like you, even if you have not yet mentioned it.

 

Regards, Gamma

Please let me clarify my remark:

 

When I say "more like you", I mean "civil in discourse, and respectful of others", in case you were in doubt.

 

Regards, Gamma

 

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[stoner]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

If you go back to your original post, you typed ghg, not hgh.

you are right my mistake. still no reason for the personal attacks. 

[3NUMBAS]

like bruce willis i have aphasia a nd its difficult to get words out

[GammaGlobulin]

Harking back, once again, to the OP:

 

Concerning this idea of decline in linguistic ability as influenced by the aging process, I have, throughout my life, with no factiousness intended, been in search of the perfect paragraph, both in academic writing as well as in the popular English prose written by authors published between the years 1748 (Fanny Hill), 1749 (The History of Tom Jones), and the year 2010 (Philip Roth's novel, Nemesis).

 

My writing abilities, laughable as they may be, have waxed and waned throughout my writing career, and I experienced a resurgence in meager writing ability most recently during a brief few years when I agreed to edit theses, for free, in exchange for the opportunity to save what was left of my mind.

 

These days, I am convinced that the only thing that might help me to forestall more-rapid memory loss and diminishing cognitive function is to do another thesis edit. However, I also realize that my capacity to sit typing for many hours each day is not what it once was.  And, engaging in thesis editing usually cannot be done in a piecemeal way; once you begin, there is absolutely no rest for the weary.  It's a long process, simply because you are always presented with an unfinished manuscript. You begin on chapters one, two, and maybe chapter three. Then, you must wait for chapter four, five and six.  Then you carefully edit four and five. And then you must RE-EDIT chapters two and three, after the student has totally rearranged everything, and added new material. And then you begin editing the conclusion to this mess, chapter six.  And then you are asked to re-edit all chapters, about 150 pages.  And then the student submits her thesis for defense. And then after many comments, the student will add and subtract great gobs of text and extraneous ideas, sprinkled throughout the entire thesis.  And then, FINALLY, you are allowed to RE-EDIT the entire thesis before publication, the deadline-date of which has already passed.

 

And so, this becomes a most hair-raising enterprise for any editor of worth.

 

This is why I will never do another edit of this kind.

 

But still, editing is such good medicine that I would like to, maybe, edit just one paragraph a month. Unfortunately, as I have stated, such opportunities are scarce.  You gotta be in it for the long haul, or nothing.

 

There is no pill like an ESL-authored MA thesis in the Social Sciences, for retarding the aging process, is my opinion. And I feel such great nostalgia for the days I was emotionally up to the challenge.  Maybe I am becoming too lazy for my own good.

 

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

10 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

like bruce willis i have aphasia a nd its difficult to get words out

I have noticed quite a bit of visual memory loss as I age.  Visual memory is so key for reading comprehension, and even for recognition and discrimination of icons on a computer screen.  Visual memory is critical to all linguistic tasks, and even for using a computer quickly and efficiently.

 

It takes me longer to search through text for what I am seeking, for example.

 

Visual memory decline is a fundamental part of the aging process, as we all know.

 

By visual memory loss, I am talking about the natural effects of aging:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3557412/#:~:text=Results showed that VWM changes,8 and 9 year olds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

If you go back to your original post, you typed ghg, not hgh.

As always, such a stickler for detail.

And, IMHO, it's good to be a stickler.

(Your visual memory is still not too shabby.)

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by GammaGlobulin