It’s true that as we grow older, many aggravations that we used to take seriously seem to lose edge. Some of us, however, become grumpy, cantankerous oldsters. It’s generally recognized that a positive outlook on life has a favorable effect on general health. If that’s correct, then the “mellow oldsters” might have been a self-selected sample.
Dov R. Aleksandrowicz Ramat Gan, Israel
Perhaps it’s because I’m only 49 that it seems all too easy to turn this article around by a slightly different wording: “Older and more cynical: Aging brain shifts gears to become an emotional cripple.” OK, that’s too much, but have we not heard of the miserable old man?
Peter Morgan New Haven, Conn.
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