Ageing With Attitude: Age is no barrier to learning technology
IN THE rapidly evolving world of technology, which influences so much of our lives now, we tend to equate innovation with youth.
But creativity isn’t the sole preserve of the young in any field — and there is no reason why older people should not be playing more of a role in designing the future.
One person who is demonstrating the value of experience in the technological field is Barbara Beskind, who last year, at the age of 90, began a new career as a tech designer for IDEO, a firm in Palo Alto, California.
She applied for a job with the company after seeing an interview in which its founder, David Kelley, spoke about the importance of diversity on a design team.
The former occupational therapist, now 91, works on products for the elderly, devising her own prototypes and offering feedback on designs.
“Age is not a barrier to performance,” she says. “Live life as an adventure, and expect change and endorse it, embrace it.”
Someone undertaking their own adventure in tech is 54-year-old Breda Grinsell, who, after a career break of 15 years to look after her children, returned to college and has completed her second year of a degree in business information systems at CIT.
“It was only when I was looking at colleges with my son that I saw a diploma in IT training in Cork College of Commerce and I said to myself ‘God, I’d love that’.
"I started there three years ago — I’d take the bus up from Dunmanway and I used to look at the kids getting off the bus. At UCC, they’d drop you off at the gate, but at CIT you have a long walk.
"One of the lecturers in the College of Commerce kept on at me to do a degree so I applied for courses to keep him quiet. I got offered Business Information Systems in CIT so I had to get off the bus and do that long walk!”
She found the transition difficult at first.
"“It was daunting because in the College of Commerce, you have older people as well whereas in my class in CIT, it was mainly 18-year-olds.
"I was by far the oldest. I found it very strange in the beginning and I felt a little bit out of place.
"There is a mature students group but there wasn’t one for BIS. Anyway, I thought, I can’t separate myself from people. I thought they have something to offer me and I have a lot to offer them, time will tell.”
The fact that she had so much information to digest also meant she didn’t dwell on the age gap.
“There were more important things I had to concentrate on like the maths, which I struggled with at first. CIT has brilliant support systems in place.
"I got the help I needed and ended up excelling in maths — I remember the lecturer coming to me with a big smile, he couldn’t believe it.
"All you need is that one piece of the jigsaw that you don’t have, then you’ll get another piece and then you’re flying.”
Being older, Breda says she is more confident about approaching people for help.
“The worst thing you can do is go away and say ‘I can’t do it’. The best thing you can do is ask for help — just to let a lecturer know ‘I’m not getting this’.
A college with a good support system makes all the difference.”
Breda says she is also learning a lot from her classmates.
“When I can’t do something that’s natural to them, I ask them, they show me and it’s done. We learn from each other on projects.”
Her next challenge is to find a work placement for her third year.
“I think I’ll be conscious of being older when I’m looking for the work placement. I’m staying positive and concentrating on what I can bring to a company.
"It will be interesting to see how I feel about people’s attitudes towards me. I am concerned about age discrimination. The goal is to get the job I want. I haven’t got the years to be moving up the ladder.”
She urges other older people not to be intimidated by technology.
“You hear a lot about the young being innovative and creative. But I find I am more creative than ever. Older people are frightened of technology. They think, ‘Oh no, that’s for the young people’. I’m living proof that it’s not.
“Older people have the experience but need the technical skills. Once they have learned the skill, they are like a runaway train because they already have the knowledge.”
Two years down the track, Breda is still full steam ahead. “Some of the course is so tough but when I’m sitting in a lecture, I love it. I feel alive.”
American author Dan Buettner is an expert on Blue Zones, certain areas of the world that are exceptional in the incidence of people living long and healthy lives.
Buettner has recently been discussing the results of a project which introduced Blue Zone diet guidelines to a city in the US state of Minnesota, where it led to an astonishing transformation.
Buettner and his team worked with shops and restaurants in Albert Lea to increase the “longevity factor” of foods by 20%.
After a year-and-a-half, healthcare costs were down by 40%. They’ve now expanded the “Blue Zone makeover” to 23 Iowa cities.
The diet is largely plant-based with small amounts of meat just four or five times a month. People on the diet also eat smaller quantities and have their bigger meals earlier in the day.
A research project into ageing at NUI Galway is seeking participants aged 60-85 years to join an experimental study on the effects of listening to music.
Volunteers will complete a questionnaire and spend two to three hours in the lab carrying out a variety of tasks while listening to music and having their brain waves measured.
Jenny Groarke, a musician and PhD student at the School of Psychology in NUI Galway, said: “We will examine whether listening to music improves psychological functioning across a range of domains, which we hope can be used to benefit older adults.”
Groarke has already discovered differences in music listening between younger and older adults.
For more information, visit www.adaptivefunctionsofmusic.com
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm
My grandad challenges the art world: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QQpTHKqzKk
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