Hi
Parkfell, the 65yo age retirement thing stems from the car insurance actuaries. They have the accident rates and types to show that there could be an issue with cognitive decline and mental plasticity. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that our brains become more "crystalised" as we age. No, not physically per se but the way we process information, in particular, in novel situations. The decline begins during the 30s but there is an general acceleration from 65yo onwards. Sure, not for every one, but for the population at large.
Yes, people argue that they can pass a sim check, no arguments from me there. However, this is not a novel situation. You know it's a check, you know there'll be a V1 cut, etc. You can rehearse it etc. The issue is novel (aka new, unplanned, untrained) situations.
The notes on my HRT (hormone replacement therapy) says that it will not reverse the cognitive decline post 65yo.
Of course, there are individual differences. That's great. What a person of my age (56yo with 10,200 hours) can do is use previous experience to short cut the learning tasks. That's not novel learning. Learning brand new stuff as we get older is more challenging compared to a relatively "plastic" brain of a 25yo. It can be done, but it's a challenge.
