If you have ever played video games, you are likely acquainted with the idea of twitch gameplay. Twitch games pit a computer adversary against the human player who can only prevail with actions that are intuitive, decisive, and fast. Twitch games test eye-hand coordination and reaction time. Unlike turn-based games (cards, dominos, chess, monopoly, and many more) that test our strategy and guile, twitch games test our reflexes. Life is not a twitch game.
My real world and cyberspace friend and nurse colleague, Susan Syler, sent me a WaPo article penned by a geriatrician today. The doctor addressed President Joe Biden’s age and cognitive fitness for office. The author observed that memory consists of the ability to form new memories (to learn, as it were), to store memories (to preserve them), and to recall them (to remember). As we age, we all experience longer recall times. But actual cognitive decline is heralded by not being able to form new memories rather than being slower to recall them. Biden exhibits no greater difficulty recalling words or names than I do at age 75. And, unlike Donald Trump, he demonstrates the ability to learn.
I think that the author, a respected geriatrician, perhaps emphasizes the importance of memory too much. What makes us able to frame and address problems, challenges, and such is not merely memory, but executive function. Executive function is about understanding relationships (object, human, mathematical, etc.), correctly framing a problem, and then planning and executing a set of actions to solve the problem.
Executive function depends not only on memory (our experience solving problems, our memory of others we have read about, and some we may have discussed with others) but also on problem-solving approaches that we have learned and practiced. The world looks very different to a seasoned politician who has faced and addressed complex domestic and international issues than it does to an individual whose entire life has been devoted to making money as a real-estate developer. To the latter, every problem, domestic or international, looks like a financial transaction and little more.
This is why Joe Biden is a fit candidate for the oval office regardless of age. To lead, one needs both physical and mental health; Biden has both. But one also needs knowledge, experience, and relevant problem-solving skills. Biden has those; Trump does not.
In November, we all need to use our KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) and make the best choice that we can not only for ourselves but for Democracy, America, and the World.